• Hongfeng Jiang, Jingbo Wang, Baoshan Xu, Haiyun Yang, and Qingsan Zhu.
• Department of Spine Surgery, Tianjin Hospital, No. 406 South Jiefang Road, Hexi District, Tianjin, 300211, China. jianghf99@163.com.
• Eur Spine J. 2017 Jan 1; 26 (1): 56-63.

PurposeTo develop a large animal model for acute central cervical spinal cord injury syndrome (ACCSCIS.MethodsTwenty-four adult male goats were randomized into four groups including group A with acute compression injury, group B with anterior chronic compression, group C as the test group that received anterior chronic compression by screw and acute compression by posterior balloon insertion, and group D as normal controls that received sham surgery. Neurological function (modified Tarlov motor function), CT, MRI, cortical somatosensory evoked potentials (CSEP), and pathological analysis were evaluated. The data were analyzed statistically.ResultsThe motor function of the goats in group C was significantly lower than other groups. CSEP before spinal cord compression showed a stable pattern. Spinal cord compression resulted in a gradual decrement in the peak latency and significant increment in the peak amplitude. Cervical spinal canal occupying ratio was significantly lower in group C than the other groups. MRI revealed focal low signal in T1 weighted images and focal high signal in T2 weighted images in group C. Pathological analysis showed more severe lesions in the gray matter than that in the white matter in group C.ConclusionsThe model well simulated the pathogenesis and resembled the clinical characteristics of ACCSCIS. This model seems to have the potential to contribute to the development of effective therapies for ACCSCIS.

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