Animal models of spinal cord injury: a systematic review.

STUDY DESIGN: PRISMA-guided systematic review. OBJECTIVES: To provide a comprehensive framework of the current animal models for investigating spinal cord injury (SCI) and categorize them based on the aims, patterns and levels of injury, and outcome measurements as well as animal species. SETTING: Sina Trauma and Surgery Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. METHODS: An electronic search of the Medline database for literature describing animal models of SCI was performed on 1 January 2016 using the following keywords: 'spinal cord injuries' and 'animal models'. The search retrieved 2870 articles. Reviews and non-original articles were excluded. Data extraction was independently performed by two reviewers. RESULTS: Among the 2209 included studies, testing the effects of drug's or growth factor's interventions was the most common aim (36.6%) followed by surveying pathophysiologic changes (30.2%). The most common spinal region involved was thoracic (81%). Contusion was the most common pattern of injury (41%) followed by transection (32.5%) and compression (19.4%). The most common species involved in animal models of SCI was the rat (72.4%). Two or more types of outcome assessments were used in the majority of the studies, and the most common assessment method was biological plus behavioral (50.8%). CONCLUSIONS: Prior to choosing an animal model, the objectives of the proposed study must precisely be defined. Contusion and compression models better simulate the biomechanics and neuropathology of human injury, whereas transection models are valuable to study anatomic regeneration. Rodents are the most common and probably best-suited species for preliminary SCI studies.

Does calcium score in great pelvic vessels predict colorectal anastomotic leakage? A prospective study of one hundred anastomoses.

BACKGROUND: Anastomotic leakage is one of the most severe surgical complications following surgery. This prospective study was designed to investigate an association between the calcification in the descending aorta and its major branches using a calcium-scoring software and colorectal anastomotic leakage. METHODS: From January 2012 to March 2013, one hundred patients underwent surgeries involving colorectal anastomosis procedures. Calcium score in descending aorta and great pelvic vessels was measured using the Syngo-CT 2006G-W software. A questionnaire was completed containing demographic and underlying risk factors suspicious to be associated with anastomotic leakage, in addition to surgical characteristics data. RESULTS: 55 males and 45 females entered the study with the mean age of 63.70±7.17 years. The average duration time of surgery was 149.30±20.24 minutes. The type of surgery was elective for 90 patients and emergency for 10 others. The mean calcium score was higher in greater arteries as in abdominal aorta and common iliac arteries in comparison to the other pelvic vessels. Comparing two groups of patients with and without anastomotic leakage, the calcium score was higher in descending aorta and all great pelvic vessels of patients with colorectal anastomotic leakage (P<0.001). One patient (1%) died due to postoperative anastomotic leakage two weeks after the surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Atherosclerotic calcification in the descending aorta and its major branches can be considered as a risk factor in the development of colorectal anastomotic leakage. (Acta gastroenterol. belg., 2016, 79, 415-420).

Relationships of fat-tail dimensions with fat-tail weight and carcass characteristics at different slaughter weights of Torki-Ghashghaii sheep.

The purpose of this research was to investigate the relationship between fat-tail and carcass attributes in Torki-Ghashghaii sheep. Thirty ram lambs belonging to six weight groups (weighing from 25 to 50kg) were used. Fat-tail measurements were recorded on the live animals before slaughter. Hot and cold (after 24h in the cold room) carcass weights, and the weights of the tail and internal organs were recorded. The carcass was dissected into conventional cuts. Each cut was de-boned and the physically separable fat was removed from the meat. The bone, physical fat and trimmed meat were weighed separately. The weight of trimmed meat as a percentage of slaughter weight did not change significantly from 25 to 50kg live weights (23.4-25.3%). The weights of physically separated fat and the fat-tail as a percentage of live weight varied from 6.6% to 15.5% for various weight groups. The correlation coefficients between the tail weight and dimensions were large, positive, and significant. The highest correlation coefficient was found between the tail weight and upper circumference (r=0.88), and the lowest one was found between the tail weight and upper thickness (r=0.61). The upper and lower circumferences of the tail accounted for 85% of the total variation in the tail weight. The tail weight was positively correlated with the meat chemically determined fat (ether extract; r=0.43; P<0.05) and with the total body fat (r=0.70; P<0.01). Further studies are needed to see whether inclusion of fat-tail measurements in breeding programs would result in a decrease in body fat in this breed.