Fractional anisotropy is a marker in early-stage spinal cord injury

This study was designed to investigate whether fractional anisotropy (FA) contributes to study pathologic changes in SCI. Here rats were divided into a control group and three injury groups. Those in the injury groups were administered a mild, moderate, and severe contusion injury at the T10 vertebral level, respectively. Three rats were randomly selected from each group at 6, 24 and 72h after SCI for imaging examination. Magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging was FA and tractography. Once magnetic resonance was completed, blood was collected and serum levels of neuron specific enolase (NSE) and soluble protein-100β (S-100β) were determined. Then animals were sacrificed and histopathologic examination was conducted. The spinal cord in the SCI model rats produced prominent tissue damages characterized by neuronal injury in the affected regions. An obvious decrease in FA happened 24h after SCI, and at 72h, FA tended to be stable. There were significant differences in the serum levels of NSE and S-100β between 6h and 24h, respectively. FA significantly related with the serum testing results at 24h. FA may be used as a marker for different severities of SCI. The optimal time for examination is at 24h post-injury in rat.