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Experimental kyphoscoliosis induced in rats by selective brain stem damage

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Summary

The relationship between damage to particular brain stem nuclei related to postural control and equilibrium and the occurrence of spinal deformity has been investigated. The model used was the Wistar albino rat and the brain stem structures damaged were the gracillis nucleus, the superior colliculus and the lateral vestibular nucleus. Out of 60 brain stem damaged animals, 44 had accurate lesions from which 11 (25%) showed kyphoscoliotic deformities. Rats with spinal deformity showed an imbalance of the paraspinal muscles when assessed by EMG; this was expressed by an increase of muscular activity on the convex side. This study indicates that postural dysfunction caused by brain stem damage may induce kyphoscoliosis in experimental animals and could be one of the underlying mechanisms in the production of human idiopathic scoliosis.

Résumé

Ce travail étudie les rapports entre les lésions de certains noyaux du tronc cérébral dévolus au contrôle des postures et de l'équilibre et le développement des déformations du rachis. On a utilisé comme animal d'expérience le rat blanc Wistar et les structures lésées ont été le noyau gracile, la colonne blanche supérieure et le noyau vestibulaire latéral. Sur les 60 animaux d'expérience, 44 avaient subi des lésions bien localisées et 11 de ces derniers (25%) présentaient des déformations cypho-scoliotiques. L'électromyographie des rats porteurs de déviations rachidiennes montrait un déséquilibre au niveau des muscles spinaux, caractérisé par une augmentation de l'activité électrique du côté de la convexité. Ce travail montre qu'un dysfonctionnement du contrôle postural dû à une lésion du tronc cérébral est susceptible d'entraîner une cypho-scoliose chez l'animal. Ce peut donc être un des mécanismes étio-pathogéniques de la scoliose idiopathique humaine.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedics, Navarra University Clinic, Pamplona, Spain

    C. Barrios

  2. Department of Neurosurgery, Newcastle General Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

    J. I. Arrotegui

Authors
  1. C. Barrios
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  2. J. I. Arrotegui
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Additional information

This paper was presented in part at the Combined Meeting of the Scoliosis Research Society and the European Spinal Deformities Society, Amsterdam (The Netherlands), September 17–22, 1989

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Barrios, C., Arrotegui, J.I. Experimental kyphoscoliosis induced in rats by selective brain stem damage. International Orthopaedics 16, 146–151 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00180206

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