Clip compression injury in the spinal cord: a correlative study of neurological and morphological alterations

Rats subjected to experimental spinal cord compression of different degrees induced by aneurysm clips were neurologically tested 3 and 5 weeks postinjury. The development of spinal cord tissue destruction over time was similar to what has been described for other experimental spinal cord injuries with characteristics such as early edema, axonal swelling, and later necrosis. Three weeks after injury a reactive gliosis was found at the injury epicenter and regenerating axons could be identified in the otherwise necrotic cavity. The extent of degeneration was highly correlated with the closing force of the aneurysm clip. The results of a number of neurological tests were correlated to the degree of clip-induced compression, to lesion volume, and to the remaining area of white matter at the epicenter. The neurological tests with the highest correlation to morphological descriptors were beam walk (r(s) = 0.89-0.95) and motor performance score (r(s) = 0.88-0.92). We conclude that the motor performance score, previously validated for photochemically induced ischemic spinal cord injuries, is equally suitable for clip compression injuries as a fast and reliable neurological test paradigm.