Injury & Pain – Spinal Cord Injury
Spinal cord injury (SCI) occurs when the spinal column is subjected to force with the fracture(s) as a result. Any injury to the thoracic spinal cord causes paraplegia, or loss of function in the legs (hind limbs). In the United States, the incidence of SCI has been estimated to be about 12,000 cases per year (40 cases per 1 million people per year). According to the new data collected by the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, there are currently 1.3 million individuals in the US living with spinal cord injuries- a number five times higher than was previously estimated in 2007. There are many causes leading to spinal cord injuries, including motor vehicle accidents (24%), work-related accidents (28%), sports and recreation injuries (16%), and falls (9%).
Several animal models of SCI have been developed to replicate injuries in humans. In rodents, the most widely used and characterized model involves injury at the thoracic level. The behavioral consequences of SCI in the rat are commonly evaluated by Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan (BBB) locomotor rating scale, foot print analysis and grid walk tests. At PsychoGenics we also apply our proprietary technology platforms to evaluate multiple behavioral features affected by the spinal cord injury and recovery of those features in the rat model. (see Proprietary Drug Discovery Platforms)
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