Back to 2012 Annual Meeting Program
Catwalk Gait Analysis In ASSESSMENT of FUNCTIONAL Recovery AFTER Sciatic Nerve Injury In the Mice
Ching-Hua Hsieh, MD; Jonathan Chris Jeng, BA; Siou-Ling Tzeng; Tsu-Hsiang Lu
Ching-Hua Hsieh, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Purpose: Improved behavioural outcome may be the most important evidence of functionality of axon regeneration after any repair strategy following peripheral nerve injury. Walking-track analysis-derived sciatic function index (SFI) is limited in identifying SFI hallmarks hampered by the paresis at early time points, in controlling the speed of locomotion, and in processing the laborious and time consuming non-automated data. A further static sciatic index (SSI) was developed with a good correlation to the SFI and is obviously not limited by speed of locomotion; however, a major drawback of both the SSI and many walking track analyses is the lack of measurement of dynamic parameters. The CatWalk automated gait analysis system had been reported to simultaneously measure dynamic and static gait parameters in rats, but this method has not yet been adapted to the mouse model of sciatic nerve injury. Therefore, our goal is to use CatWalk gait analysis to assess the functional recovery in mice sciatic nerve injury.
Methods: After standard crush injury model with No. 5 Jewelerˇ¦s forcep for 30s in the right sciatic nerve 5mm proximal to the trification, the CatWalk testing was performed postoperatively in both sham control and experimental group three times per week for 6 weeks. At least three CatWalk runs were obtained per animal. A large amount of dynamic and static gait parameters were detected in both paws, including SSIm (formula of the SSI for mice), toe spread factor (TSF), intensity of the hind paws, individual paw parameters, and dynamic paw parameters. In additional group of mice, detection of change of myelin structure protein by Western blotting at indicated times during the nerve regeneration and quantification of nerve regeneration using semithin section toluidine blue stain of the distal nerve segment were performed for comparison.
Results: we demonstrated the successful use of the CatWalk gait analysis in assessment of behavioural recovery after crush injury of the mouse sciatic nerve. Among the measured parameters, in particular SSIm, TSF, and dynamic paw parameters are of interest in detecting recovery as far as these parameters completely return to pre-operative values in 2 weeks after the crush injury, which results are correlated to the change of the myelin structure protein and the nerve regeneration of distal nerve segment.
Conclusion: We conclude that the CatWalk can be used as an alternative method to measure behavioural recovery by objectively detecting dynamic and static gait impairments after sciatic nerve injury in mice.
Back to 2012 Annual Meeting Program