The Roads to Mitochondrial Dysfunction in a Rat Model of Posttraumatic Syringomyelia

Figure 7

Quantification of ischemic motoneuronal change, ghost motoneuron, and spongy vacuolization in the spinal cord of intact control, laminectomy, and syrinx groups at 1 h, 24 h, and 6 weeks after injury. Data expressed as mean ± SE from 4–63 separate H and E stained sections. (a) Ischemic motoneuronal change. , versus intact control at the same time point. Spinal cord injury, regardless of laminectomy or syrinx procedure, induced ischemic motoneuronal change. Such ischemic cell change was reversible in the spinal cord of laminectomy animals but not in syrinx rats during 6 weeks follow-up period. The initial ischemic motoneuronal change occurred in the spinal cord of syrinx rats could be recovered within 24 h following injury but it reoccurred at 6-week time point. (b) Ghost motoneurons were observed as motoneurons without nucleus. , versus intact control at the same time point. ^†, versus other groups at all 3 time points. Spinal cord injury, regardless of laminectomy or syrinx procedure, increased the percentage of ghost motoneuron. A high percentage of ghost motoneuron was reversible in the spinal cord of laminectomy animals but not in syrinx rats during 6 weeks follow-up period. There was no significant difference in the percentage of ghost motoneuron between laminectomy groups. At 6-week-time point, the percentage of ghost motoneuron was greater in syrinx than any other groups at every time point. (c) The percentage of vacuoles in a coronal spinal cord section. , versus intact control at the same time point. ^†, versus laminectomy at 1 h and syrinx at 1 h. ^‡, versus other groups at all 3 time points except syrinx at 24 h. Spinal cord injury, regardless laminectomy or syrinx procedure, increased the percentage of vacuoles in the spinal cord. A higher percentage of vacuoles was observed at 6 h in the laminectomy group than at 1 h in both laminectomy and syrinx animals. At 6-week time point, the percentage of ghost motoneuron was greater in syrinx than any other groups at every time point except syrinx at 24 h.

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