Scopus Publication Detail

The publication detail shows the title, authors (with indicators showing other profiled authors), information on the publishing organization, abstract and a link to the article in Scopus. This abstract is what is used to create the fingerprint of the publication.

Neuroprotective effects of testosterone on motoneuron and muscle morphology following spinal cord injury

James S. Byers; Anna L. Huguenard; Dulanji Kuruppu; Nai-Kui Liu; Xiao-Ming Xu; Dale R. Sengelaub (Profiled Authors: Naikui Liu; Xiao-Ming Xu)

Journal of Comparative Neurology. 2012;520(12):2683-2696.

Treatment with testosterone is neuroprotective/neurotherapeutic after a variety of motoneuron injuries. Here we assessed whether testosterone might have similar beneficial effects after spinal cord injury (SCI). Young adult female rats received either sham or T9 spinal cord contusion injuries and were implanted with blank or testosterone-filled Silastic capsules. Four weeks later, motoneurons innervating the vastus lateralis muscle of the quadriceps were labeled with cholera toxin-conjugated horseradish peroxidase, and dendritic arbors were reconstructed in three dimensions. Soma volume, motoneuron number, lesion volume, and tissue sparing were also assessed, as were muscle weight, fiber cross-sectional area, and motor endplate size and density. Contusion injury resulted in large lesions, with no significant differences in lesion volume, percent total volume of lesion, or spared white or gray matter between SCI groups. SCI with or without testosterone treatment also had no effect on the number or soma volume of quadriceps motoneurons. However, SCI resulted in a decrease in dendritic length of quadriceps motoneurons in untreated animals, and this decrease was completely prevented by treatment with testosterone. Similarly, the vastus lateralis muscle weights and fiber cross-sectional areas of untreated SCI animals were smaller than those of sham-surgery controls, and these reductions were both prevented by testosterone treatment. No effects on motor endplate area or density were observed across treatment groups. These findings suggest that regressive changes in motoneuron and muscle morphology seen after SCI can be prevented by testosterone treatment, further supporting a role for testosterone as a neurotherapeutic agent in the injured nervous system. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

PMID: 22314886    

Scientific Context

This section shows information related to the publication - computed using the fingerprint of the publication - including related publications, related experts with fingerprints representing significant amounts of overlap between their fingerprint and this publication. The red dots indicate whether those experts or terms appear within the publication, thereby showing potential and actual connections.