Testing Pathological Variation of White Matter Tract in Adult Rats after Severe Spinal Cord Injury with MRI

Figure 5

NF-200 immunofluorescent staining and the color FA maps at the lesion core segment showed the axonal variation in the SCI time course. (a) Before SCI and at 1, 3, and 14 days after SCI, axonal morphology of the DC, LLWM, RLWM, LVWM, and RVWM. The number of axons in the dorsal column (DC) region was lost quickly and severely at 1 and 3 days after SCI, and the axonal loss in the DC column was considerable, with spared axons characterized as disorganized, swollen, and ruptured. The axon loss and degeneration were continuously observed over the 14 days after SCI. (b) Before SCI and at different time points after SCI, axonal numbers in different regions. (c) Corresponding color FA maps before SCI and at different time points after SCI. Significantly different from those before SCI: P < 0.05; P < 0.01. Scale bar = 100 μm.