Spinal cord stimulation induces c-Fos expression in the dorsal horn in rats with neuropathic pain after partial sciatic nerve injury.

Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is an established treatment for intractable neuropathic pain, especially CRPS-1. The mechanisms of action of SCS have only been partly elucidated and include suppression of the hyper-excitability of the Wide Dynamic Range neurons and a GABA increase in the dorsal horn. In the present study we demonstrate an increase of c-Fos immunoreactive cells in the dorsal horn after SCS, suggesting early cellular activation that may preclude earlier described electrophysiological and biochemical changes in the dorsal horn after SCS.

Strain and locomotor speed affect over-ground locomotion in intact rats.

A variety of animal models for neurological disease and injury exist and locomotor performance is an important outcome parameter in studies employing these models. The CatWalk, an automated quantitative gait analysis method is a method to study over-ground locomotor performance in large groups of animals. In the present study, we used the CatWalk which allowed us to investigate strain differences in over-ground locomotion in three commonly used strains of laboratory rat (i.