Neurosurgery
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Apoptosis is indicated to have an important role in the secondary injury mechanisms of acute spinal cord injury (SCI). The proto-oncogene bcl-2 has been demonstrated to prevent apoptotic cell death in a wide variety of cell types. This study examined the recovery of behavioral function and histopathological variables after controlled-impact SCI in human bcl-2 transgenic (TG) mice and control mice. ⋯ Our results suggest that overexpression of the bcl-2 gene may play a protective role in neuropathological sequelae after SCI.