Treadmill training promotes spinal changes leading to locomotor recovery after partial spinal cord injury in cats

2013 ◽  
Vol 109 (12) ◽  
pp. 2909-2922 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Martinez ◽  
Hugo Delivet-Mongrain ◽  
Serge Rossignol
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Treadmill Training ◽  
Locomotor Training ◽  
Locomotor Recovery ◽  
Thoracic Level ◽  
Spinal Circuitry ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Locomotor Deficits ◽  
Spinal Hemisection

After a spinal hemisection at thoracic level in cats, the paretic hindlimb progressively recovers locomotion without treadmill training but asymmetries between hindlimbs persist for several weeks and can be seen even after a further complete spinal transection at T13. To promote optimal locomotor recovery after hemisection, such asymmetrical changes need to be corrected. In the present study we determined if the locomotor deficits induced by a spinal hemisection can be corrected by locomotor training and, if so, whether the spinal stepping after the complete spinal cord transection is also more symmetrical. This would indicate that locomotor training in the hemisected period induces efficient changes in the spinal cord itself. Sixteen adult cats were first submitted to a spinal hemisection at T10. One group received 3 wk of treadmill training, whereas the second group did not. Detailed kinematic and electromyographic analyses showed that a 3-wk period of locomotor training was sufficient to improve the quality and symmetry of walking of the hindlimbs. Moreover, after the complete spinal lesion was performed, all the trained cats reexpressed bilateral and symmetrical hindlimb locomotion within 24 h. By contrast, the locomotor pattern of the untrained cats remained asymmetrical, and the hindlimb on the side of the hemisection was still deficient. This study highlights the beneficial role of locomotor training in facilitating bilateral and symmetrical functional plastic changes within the spinal circuitry and in promoting locomotor recovery after an incomplete spinal cord injury.

Recovery of hindlimb locomotion after incomplete spinal cord injury in the cat involves spontaneous compensatory changes within the spinal locomotor circuitry

2011 ◽  
Vol 106 (4) ◽  
pp. 1969-1984 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Martinez ◽  
Hugo Delivet-Mongrain ◽  
Hugues Leblond ◽  
Serge Rossignol
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Locomotor Training ◽  
Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Locomotor Deficits ◽  
The Right ◽  
Better Than ◽  
Spinal Hemisection

After incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI), compensatory changes occur throughout the whole neuraxis, including the spinal cord below the lesion, as suggested by previous experiments using a dual SCI paradigm. Indeed, cats submitted to a lateral spinal hemisection at T10-T11 and trained on a treadmill for 3–14 wk re-expressed bilateral hindlimb locomotion as soon as 24 h after spinalization, a process that normally takes 2–3 wk when a complete spinalization is performed without a prior hemisection. In this study, we wanted to ascertain whether similar effects could occur spontaneously without training between the two SCIs and within a short period of 3 wk in 11 cats. One day after the complete spinalization, 9 of the 11 cats were able to re-express hindlimb locomotion either bilaterally ( n = 6) or unilaterally on the side of the previous hemisection ( n = 3). In these 9 cats, the hindlimb on the side of the previous hemisection (left hindlimb) performed better than the right side in contrast to that observed during the hemispinal period itself. Cats re-expressing the best bilateral hindlimb locomotion after spinalization had the largest initial hemilesion and the most prominent locomotor deficits after this first SCI. These results provide evidence that 1) marked reorganization of the spinal locomotor circuitry can occur without specific locomotor training and within a short period of 3 wk; 2) the spinal cord can reorganize in a more or less symmetrical way; and 3) the ability to walk after spinalization depends on the degree of deficits and adaptation observed in the hemispinal period.

scholarly journals Treino Locomotor com Suporte de Peso Corporal na Lesão Medular Incompleta

2001 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 702-710
Author(s):  
Renata Teles Vieira ◽  
Rafaela Machado de Gusmão Oliveira ◽  
Camila Alves Nogueira Barros ◽  
Leonardo Caixeta
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Body Weight ◽  
Treadmill Training ◽  
Body Weight Support ◽  
Locomotor Training ◽  
Weight Support ◽  
Cord Injury

Objetivo. O objetivo deste trabalho foi realizar uma revisão de literatura sobre o uso do treino locomotor em pacientes portadores de lesão medular incompleta, a fim de verificar os seus efeitos para a marcha destes pacientes. Método. Foi realizada uma busca utilizando os bancos de dados medline, scielo e bvs a partir dos descritores: body weight-support treadmill training (suporte parcial de peso com treinamento em esteira), locomotor training (treino locomotor), spinal cord injury (lesão medular), gait (marcha). Todos os artigos coletados nos últimos 18 anos foram analisados. Discussão. A lesão medular é uma grave síndrome neurológica que causa diversos comprometimentos, inclusive da marcha. Para aperfeiçoar este processo, deu-se início à prática de reabilitação na esteira com suporte de peso corporal. A ampla utilização desta técnica de reabilitação deve-se a maior facilidade para o treino da marcha, a satisfação dos pacientes durante o tratamento e, principalmente, aos bons resultados gerados. Conclusão. Um número significante de estudos mostrou que o treino de marcha com suporte de peso corporal é um meio seguro e confiável, e que surgiu para inovar a reabilitação funcional da marcha. Não há evidência científica para afirmar que o treino locomotor com suporte de peso seja um método superior a outras terapias.

Spinal cord injury: overview of experimental approaches used to restore locomotor activity

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Fakhoury
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Animal Models ◽  
Axonal Regeneration ◽  
Spinal Injury ◽  
Recovery Process ◽  
Locomotor Training ◽  
Locomotor Recovery ◽  
Collateral Sprouting ◽  
Cord Injury

AbstractSpinal cord injury affects more than 2.5 million people worldwide and can lead to paraplegia and quadriplegia. Anatomical discontinuity in the spinal cord results in disruption of the impulse conduction that causes temporary or permanent changes in the cord’s normal functions. Although axonal regeneration is limited, damage to the spinal cord is often accompanied by spontaneous plasticity and axon regeneration that help improve sensory and motor skills. The recovery process depends mainly on synaptic plasticity in the preexisting circuits and on the formation of new pathways through collateral sprouting into neighboring denervated territories. However, spontaneous recovery after spinal cord injury can go on for several years, and the degree of recovery is very limited. Therefore, the development of new approaches that could accelerate the gain of motor function is of high priority to patients with damaged spinal cord. Although there are no fully restorative treatments for spinal injury, various rehabilitative approaches have been tested in animal models and have reached clinical trials. In this paper, a closer look will be given at the potential therapies that could facilitate axonal regeneration and improve locomotor recovery after injury to the spinal cord. This article highlights the application of several interventions including locomotor training, molecular and cellular treatments, and spinal cord stimulation in the field of rehabilitation research. Studies investigating therapeutic approaches in both animal models and individuals with injured spinal cords will be presented.

Locomotor training alters the behavior of flexor reflexes during walking in human spinal cord injury

2014 ◽  
Vol 112 (9) ◽  
pp. 2164-2175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew C. Smith ◽  
Chaithanya K. Mummidisetty ◽  
William Zev Rymer ◽  
Maria Knikou
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Body Weight ◽  
Healthy Subjects ◽  
Treadmill Training ◽  
Locomotor Training ◽  
Heel Contact ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
The Right ◽  
Stimulation Of

In humans, a chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) impairs the excitability of pathways mediating early flexor reflexes and increases the excitability of late, long-lasting flexor reflexes. We hypothesized that in individuals with SCI, locomotor training will alter the behavior of these spinally mediated reflexes. Nine individuals who had either chronic clinically motor complete or incomplete SCI received an average of 44 locomotor training sessions. Flexor reflexes, elicited via sural nerve stimulation of the right or left leg, were recorded from the ipsilateral tibialis anterior (TA) muscle before and after body weight support (BWS)-assisted treadmill training. The modulation pattern of the ipsilateral TA responses following innocuous stimulation of the right foot was also recorded in 10 healthy subjects while they stepped at 25% BWS to investigate whether body unloading during walking affects the behavior of these responses. Healthy subjects did not receive treadmill training. We observed a phase-dependent modulation of early TA flexor reflexes in healthy subjects with reduced body weight during walking. The early TA flexor reflexes were increased at heel contact, progressively decreased during the stance phase, and then increased throughout the swing phase. In individuals with SCI, locomotor training induced the reappearance of early TA flexor reflexes and changed the amplitude of late TA flexor reflexes during walking. Both early and late TA flexor reflexes were modulated in a phase-dependent pattern after training. These new findings support the adaptive capability of the injured nervous system to return to a prelesion excitability and integration state.

scholarly journals Beneficial effects of IL-37 after spinal cord injury in mice

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (5) ◽  
pp. 1411-1416 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Coll-Miró ◽  
Isaac Francos-Quijorna ◽  
Eva Santos-Nogueira ◽  
Abel Torres-Espin ◽  
Philip Bufler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Therapeutic Potential ◽  
Locomotor Recovery ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Contusion Injury ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Locomotor Deficits ◽  
Spinal Cord Contusion

IL-37, a member of the IL-1 family, broadly reduces innate inflammation as well as acquired immunity. Whether the antiinflammatory properties of IL-37 extend to the central nervous system remains unknown, however. In the present study, we subjected mice transgenic for human IL-37 (hIL-37tg) and wild-type (WT) mice to spinal cord contusion injury and then treated them with recombinant human IL-37 (rIL-37). In the hIL-37tg mice, the expression of IL-37 was barely detectable in the uninjured cords, but was strongly induced at 24 h and 72 h after the spinal cord injury (SCI). Compared with WT mice, hIL-37tg mice exhibited increased myelin and neuronal sparing and protection against locomotor deficits, including 2.5-fold greater speed in a forced treadmill challenge. Reduced levels of cytokines (e.g., an 80% reduction in IL-6) were observed in the injured cords of hIL-37tg mice, along with lower numbers of blood-borne neutrophils, macrophages, and activated microglia. We treated WT mice with a single intraspinal injection of either full-length or processed rIL-37 after the injury and found that the IL-37–treated mice had significantly enhanced locomotor skills in an open field using the Basso Mouse Scale, as well as supported faster speed on a mechanical treadmill. Treatment with both forms of rIL-37 led to similar beneficial effects on locomotor recovery after SCI. This study presents novel data indicating that IL-37 suppresses inflammation in a clinically relevant model of SCI, and suggests that rIL-37 may have therapeutic potential for the treatment of acute SCI.

Treadmill training based on the overload principle promotes locomotor recovery in a mouse model of chronic spinal cord injury

2021 ◽  
pp. 113834
Author(s):  
Takahiro Shibata ◽  
Syoichi Tashiro ◽  
Munehisa Shinozaki ◽  
Shogo Hashimoto ◽  
Morio Matsumoto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Mouse Model ◽  
Treadmill Training ◽  
Chronic Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Locomotor Recovery ◽  
Cord Injury

Augmented Locomotor Recovery after Spinal Cord Injury in the Athymic Nude Rat

2006 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 660-673 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason R. Potas ◽  
Yu Zheng ◽  
Charbel Moussa ◽  
Melinda Venn ◽  
Catherine A. Gorrie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Locomotor Recovery ◽  
Nude Rat ◽  
Cord Injury
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document