Evaluates neuromuscular transmission impairment in rats after spinal cord injury, suggesting trans-synaptic degeneration.
Thoracic spinal cord injuries are well known to entail the degradation of spinal motoneurons, accompanied by axonal degeneration. In the present study, the functional integrity of neuromuscular transmission was assessed via stimulation mechanomiography in Wistar rats. We demonstrated a decrease in the modulating activity of ATP in the cholinergic synapse due to spinal cord injury (a model of spinal cord contusion injury) vs. hypodynamia (a model of anti-orthostatic hindlimb suspension). The revealed abnormal purine-mediated modulation of the neuromuscular junction provides evidence for axonal degeneration and suggests that trans-synaptic degeneration of motor neurons may occur below the spinal cord injury level in patients with similar traumas.
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Khairullin et al. (2023) studied this question.
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