ABSTRACT
Objective To study the effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on rats'locomotor function after hemisectional spinal cord injury (SCI). Methods A model of hemisectional SCI was established at the T10 segment in 12 rats,which were then randomly divided into an SCI-rTMS group and an SCI-control group.Another 6 rats served as normal controls.The SCI-rTMS group received threshold rTMS daily for 4 weeks,while the SCI-control group was given sham rTMS.The normal control group was left without any treatment.BassoBeatti-Bresnahan (BBB) locomotor scores were recorded weekly.Motor evoked potential (MEP) was detected at the 28th day after the operation.Neurofilament-200 (NF-200) was detected with immunofluorescent staining of the spinal cord lesions. Results The BBB scores in the SCI-rTMS group improved more than those in the SCI-control group.MEP of the fight hindlimb was detected in the rTMS group,but not in the control group.Expression of NF-200 marker increased significantly more than in the rTMS group. Conclusions rTMS can improve locomotor function of rats after spinal cord hemisectioning,which may result from increased expression of NF-200 and the regeneration of axons.