A novel reconstruction model for thoracic spinal cord injury in swine

Spinal cord (SC) reconstruction (process to reestablish the severed neural continuity at the injury site) may provide better recovery from blunt SC injury (SCI). A miniature swine model of blunt SC compression was used to test the hypothesis that reconstruction of the SC with sural nerve in combination with surgical decompression and stabilization improves functional, macro- and microstructural recovery compared to decompression and stabilization alone. Following blunt T9-T11 SC compression injury, five adult Yucatan gilts randomly received laminectomy and polyethylene glycol (as fusogen) with (n = 3) or without (n = 2) sural nerve graft SC reconstruction. Fusogens are a heterogeneous collection of chemicals that fuse the axon membrane and are currently used to augment epineural coaptation during peripheral nerve graft reconstruction. Outcome measures of recovery included weekly sensory and motor assessments, various measurements obtained from computed tomography (CT) myelograms up to 12 weeks after injury Measurements from postmortem magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and results from spinal cord histology performed 12 weeks after injury were also reported. Vertebral canal (VC), SC and dural sac (DS) dimensions and areas were quantified on 2-D CT images adjacent to the injury. Effort to stand and response to physical manipulation improved 7 and 9 weeks and 9 and 10 weeks, respectively, after injury in the reconstruction group. Myelogram measures indicated greater T13-T14 VC, smaller SC, and smaller DS dimensions in the reconstruction cohort, and increased DS area increased DS/VC area ratio, and higher contrast migration over time. Spinal cord continuity was evident in 2 gilts in the reconstruction cohort with CT and MRI imaging. At the SCI, microstructural alterations included axonal loss and glial scarring. Better functional outcomes were observed in subjects treated with sural nerve SC reconstruction. Study results support the use of this adult swine model of blunt SCI. Long-term studies with different nerve grafts or fusogens are required to expand upon these findings.