Comparison among bone marrow mesenchymal stem and mononuclear cells to promote functional recovery after spinal cord injury in rabbits 1 Abstract Purpose: To investigate the efficacy of allogeneic mesenchymal stem-cells and autologous mononuclear cells to promote sensorimotor recovery and tissue rescue. Methods: Female rabbits were submitted to the epidural balloon inflation method and the intravenous cells administrations were made after 8 hours or seven days after injury induction. Sensorimotor evaluation of the hindlimbs was performed, and the euthanasia was made thirty days after the treatment. Spinal cords were stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Results: Both therapies given 8 hours after the injury promoted the sensorimotor recovery after a week. Only the group treated after a week with mononuclear cells showed no significant recovery at post-injury day 14. In the days 21 and 28, all treatments promoted significant recovery. Histopathological analysis showed no difference among the experimental groups. Our results showed that both bone marrow-derived cell types promoted significant sensorimotor recovery after injury, and the treatment made at least a week after injury is efficient. Conclusion:The possibilities of therapy with bone marrow-derived cells are large, increasing the therapeutic arsenal for the treatment of spinal cord injury.

The most common cause of spinal cord injury are high impact trauma, which often result in some motor impairment, sensory or autonomic a greater or lesser extent in the distal areas the level of trauma. In terms of survival and complications due to sequelae, veterinary patients have a poor prognosis unfavorable. Therefore justified the study of experimental models of spinal cord injury production that could provide more support to research potential treatments for spinal cord injuries in medicine and veterinary medicine. Preclinical studies of acute spinal cord injury require an experimental animal model easily reproducible. The most common experimental animal model is the rat, and several techniques for producing a spinal cord injury. The objective of this study was to describe and evaluate the effectiveness of acute spinal cord injury production technique through inflation of Fogarty® catheter using rabbits as an experimental model because it is a species that has fewer conclusive publications and contemplating. The main requirements of a model as low cost, handling convenience, reproducibility and uniformity. The technique was adequate for performing preclinical studies in neuro-traumatology area, effectively leading to degeneration and necrosis of the nervous tissue fostering the emergence of acute paraplegia.