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CC BY 4.0 · J Brachial Plex Peripher Nerve Inj 2024; 19(01): e6-e12
DOI: 10.1055/s-0044-1778691
Original Article

Nerve Tracing in Juvenile Rats: A Feasible Model for the Study of Brachial Plexus Birth Palsy and Cocontractions?

Krister Jönsson 
1   Department of Handsurgery Södersjukhuset, Karolinska Institutet Department of Clinical Science and Education, Södersjukhuset, Stockholm, Sweden
,
Tomas Hultgren
1   Department of Handsurgery Södersjukhuset, Karolinska Institutet Department of Clinical Science and Education, Södersjukhuset, Stockholm, Sweden
,
Mårten Risling
2   Department of Neuroscience Karolinska Institutet, Experimental Traumatology Unit, Sweden
,
Mattias K. Sköld 
2   Department of Neuroscience Karolinska Institutet, Experimental Traumatology Unit, Sweden
3   Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Neurosurgery, Uppsala University, Sweden
› Author Affiliations Funding This study was funded by Stockholms Läns Landsting.
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Abstract

Brachial plexus birth injuries cause diminished motor function in the upper extremity. The most common sequel is internal rotation contracture. A number of these patients also suffer from cocontractions, preventing the use of an otherwise good passive range of motion in the shoulder. One theory behind the co-contracture problem is that injured nerve fibers grow into distal support tissue not corresponding to the proximal support tissue, resulting in reinnervation of the wrong muscle groups. To further elucidate this hypothesis, we used rat neonates to investigate a possible model for the study of cocontractions in brachial plexus birth injuries. Five-day-old rats were subjected to a crush injury to the C5–C6 roots. After a healing period of 4 weeks, the infraspinatus muscle was injected with Fluoro-Gold. A week later, the animals were perfused and spinal cords harvested and sectioned. Differences in the uptake of Fluoro-Gold and NeuN positive cells of between sides of the spinal cord were recorded. We found a larger amount of Fluoro-Gold positive cells on the uninjured side, while the injured side had positive cells dispersed over a longer area in the craniocaudal direction. Our findings indicate that the method can be used to trace Fluoro-Gold from muscle through a neuroma. Our results also indicate that a neuroma in continuity somewhat prevents the correct connection from being established between the motor neuron pool in the spinal cord and target muscle and that some neurons succumb to a crushing injury. We also present future research ideas.

Keywords

brachial plexus birth injury - cocontraction - Fluoro-Gold - rat


Publication History

Received: 21 June 2023

Accepted: 12 December 2023

Article published online:
22 January 2024

© 2024. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Georg Thieme Verlag KG
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