Spatial and temporal damage evolution after hemi-crush injury in rat spinal cord obtained by high b-value q-space diffusion magnetic resonance imaging.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a major cause of disability for many living persons. Therefore, several experimental models and handful of techniques were developed to study and characterize the damage evolution following SCI. In the present study, high b-value q-space diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) was used to follow the spatial and temporal damage evolution in excised rat spinal cords following hemi-crush injury. The DWI results were correlated with behavioral testing. It was found that the damage depends, as expected, on the severity of the insult. Significant spontaneous recovery was observed, six weeks following the insult, only for the mild hemi-crush injury but not following the severe injury. The damage was found to be more severe in the area caudal to the trauma site as compared to the rostral section of the cord.