Progressive focal neurological dysfunction following experimental implantation glioma

One of the difficulties in understanding peritumoural brain dysfunction is the lack of defined clinical deficits in experimental glioma models. In this study progressive focal neurological dysfunction was measured using the staircase test in rodents subjected to striatal implantation of C6 glioma cells. After 22 days none of the animals, all of which had cortico-striatal tumours ranging in size from 93 to 140 mm3, showed any obvious gross behavioural abnormality. However, contralateral forelimb function was significantly worse than that before surgery by day 7 (p < 0.01) and worse than sham-implanted animals by day 12 (p < 0.01). Using this experimental paradigm the staircase test can be used to measure progressive focal neurological deterioration and evaluate both the mechanisms of, and therapies for peritumoural brain dysfunction.