Morphofunctional changes in the rat spinal cord after focal photothrombosis

The aim of the present work was to study pathomorphological and functional changes after induced focal photothrombosis of blood vessels in the thoracic part of the spinal cord in rats. Neuron abnormalities characteristic of ischemia were seen at the focus of experimental photothrombosis and in the transitional zone, along with symptoms of impaired motor and pelvic organ function. The focal photothrombosis method can be used to model spinal cord ischemia for the development of pharmacological correction methods and the recovery of impaired sensorimotor functions. Translated from Morfologiya, Vol. 133, No. 1, pp. 35–38, January–February, 2008.