Abstract
Approximately 70% of male rats receiving severe T8 spinal contusions develop allodynia
in T5-7 dermatomes (at-level) beginning 2 weeks after injury. In contrast, rats having
either complete transections or dorsal hemisections do not develop allodynia at-level
after chronic spinal cord injury (SCI). In the present study, incomplete laceration
and contusion injuries were made to test for neuroanatomical correlates between areas
of white matter damage/sparing at the lesion epicenter and the presence/absence of
allodynia. After incomplete laceration lesions and 6 weeks of behavioral testing,
histological reconstruction and analysis of the lesion epicenters revealed a significant
difference (P < .001) in the amount of ventrolateral funiculus (VLF) asymmetry between rats showing
pain-like responses evoked by touch (74.5% ± 8.4% side-to-side difference in VLF damage)
versus those not responding to touch (11.3% ± 4.4% side-to-side difference in VLF
damage). A 5-week mean allodynia score for each rat that incorporates a full range
of forces that are all innocuous in intact controls revealed that the degree of hypersensitivity
at level is related to the extent of VLF asymmetry after SCI. No other damaged spinal
white matter or gray matter area was correlated with sensitivity to touch. Similar
findings were obtained for rats receiving T8 contusions, a more clinically relevant
injury. These data suggest that different extents of damage/sparing between the 2
sides of VLF probably are a requisite for the development of allodynia after SCI.
Perspective
A side-to-side lesion asymmetry after chronic SCI in a rodent model was found to be
highly correlated with the presence and degree of allodynia. Greater insight of key
factors contributing to the development and maintenance of chronic neuropathic pain
is important for improving quality of life.
Key words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: March 25, 2010
Accepted:
December 10,
2009
Received in revised form:
October 9,
2009
Received:
May 15,
2009
Footnotes
Supported by grant No. RR015576 from the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), a component of the NIH.
Identification
Copyright
© 2010 American Pain Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
