• Naomi Yasuda, Masanori Sasaki, Jeffery D Kocsis, Nobuyoshi Kawaharada, and Osamu Honmou.
• Department of Neural Regenerative Medicine, Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan; Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. Electronic address: ynaomi@sapmed.ac.jp.
• World Neurosurg. 2024 Aug 1; 188: e349e356e349-e356.

BackgroundExperimental animal models of ischemic spinal cord injury (iSCI) are essential for studying its pathogenesis and for developing new therapeutic strategies to improve functional recovery in humans. Many existing models, however, exhibit high variability or early lethality. A reliable experimental iSCI model would significantly advance novel treatment approaches for these severe neurological disorders. To this end, we have established a rat model of persistent iSCI with an extended lifespan.MethodsWe have developed a novel iSCI model that induces localized ischemic lesions in the spinal cord of male Sprague-Dawley rats. This is achieved by cross clamping the descending aorta just rostral the azygos vein using an atraumatic bulldog clamp.ResultsThe experimental iSCI model consistently demonstrated symptoms specific to spinal cord ischemia at the lumbar level. The procedure takes approximately 50 min and does not require specialized surgical equipment. It has a survival rate of 84%, a recovery rate of 40%, and a complication rate of 16%.ConclusionsWe have successfully developed a rat model of persistent iSCI. This protocol proves to be highly reliable and holds promise for evaluating new therapeutic strategies aimed at promoting functional recovery in patients suffering from spinal cord ischemia.Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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