Abstract #2463

In Vivo MR Spectroscopic Changes in the Brain and Spinal Cord After Experimental Spinal Cord Injury in Rats

Johanna Oberg¹, Matthias Erschbamer², Rouslan Sitnikov¹, Eric Westman³, Christian Spenger¹, Lars Olson²

¹CLINTEC, Karolinska Institutet, STOCKHOLM, Sweden; ²Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden; ³NEUROTEC, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden

A variety of tests of sensorimotor function are used to characterize outcome after experimental spinal cord injury (SCI). These tests, however, do not provide information about chemical and metabolic processes in the injured CNS. Here, proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) was used to monitor chemical changes in CNS (brain and spinal cord) in vivo following SCI. Significant differences were found between control rats and injured rats. Multivariate data analysis was applied. Our findings suggest that MRS is a helpful tool to monitor metabolic changes in vivo in the brain and the spinal cord itself after spinal cord injury.