Recovery of Breathing and Forelimb Function after Prolonged Exposure to Repetitive Acute Intermittent Hypoxia
Abstract
The fundamental goal of this project is to test the efficacy and safety of prolonged repetitive exposure to acute intermittent hypoxia (rAIH; 10 episodes per day, 3 to 4 days per week, 3 to 6 months) in a rodent model of chronic, incomplete cervical spinal injury (C2 spinal hemisection in rats; C2HS). In this collaborative project (Florida and Saskatoon, Canada), we are exploring the impact of prolonged rAIH on both respiratory (Florida) and limb function (Canada), and on markers of neuro-cognitive and cardiovascular safety (Florida). Three specific aims were proposed: Aim 1: Test the hypothesis that prolonged rAIH elicits robust and prolonged improvement of breathing capacity after chronic C2HS; Aim 2: Test the hypothesis that prolonged rAIH in combination with task specific training elicits robust and prolonged improvement of voluntary forelimb function after chronic C2HS; and Aim 3:Test the hypothesis that prolonged rAIH has no significant impact on hippocampal cell survival or systemic blood pressure. These pre-clinical studies are an essential next-step in our efforts to translate rAIH as a therapeutic modality to restore respiratory and non-respiratory motor function in patients with chronic, incomplete SCI.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 2019
- Accession Number
- AD1093630
Entities
People
- Gordon S. Mitchell
Organizations
- University of Florida