Systemic Effects of Experimental Spinal Cord Injury on Bone Healing in Rabbit

bone loss after spinal cord injury leads to increased fragilityof bone and subsequent risk for low-trauma fractures in thesublesional parts of the body. although in such injuries upperlimbs are normally innervated, bone loss may occur inthe upper extremities. the present study was designed to determinethe systemic effects of spinal cord injury on the fracturehealing of upper limbs in rabbits. twenty nine skeletallymature new zealand white rabbits received a transverse midhumeralopen osteotomy in the left upper limb with the useof a standardized technique and spinal cord injury was doneusing forceps model at t8 level. the animals were dividedinto three groups: experimental (laminectomy, spinal cordinjury, and osteotomy), sham (laminectomy and osteotomy),and control (osteotomy alone). the bone healing score wascalculated using modified sandhu system by two independentpathologists. the mean ( sd) of healing scores in experimental,control, and sham groups were 7.22 ( } 3.6), 8.6( 3.3), and 8.5 ( 4.3) respectively (p=0.68). the percentageof mesenchymal (20%) and cartilaginous tissue (35%)showed a slightly higher value in the experimental groupcompared with the sham group (15% and 20% respectively).a reverse pattern was seen concerning the percentage of trabecularbone, though as a whole there was no significant differenceregarding the percentage of selected components ofbone healing between the three trial groups. fracture healingin innervated upper limbs is not influenced by the systemiceffects of spinal cord injury.iran j med sci 2008; 33(2): 106-109.