Hypercapnic Hemotherapy to Stabilize Blood Flow in the Acute Phase of Spinal Cord Injury
Date
2024-04-22
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Abstract
Spinal cord injury (SCI) results in disturbances to sensory, motor, and/or autonomic function and impairs quality of life. There is a lack of standardized management strategies after SCI due to the lack of consensus regarding the use of corticosteroids, optimal timing of surgical intervention, and the type and timing of rehabilitation, amongst other things. Secondary damage after the initial trauma involves ischemia, hypoxia, and vascular damage, amongst other effects. This secondary insult during the acute phase of SCI has been shown to underlie approximately half of the final injury severity. There are no current therapies targeting the acute phase of SCI that could help reduce the severity of final injury. My project is focused on addressing this gap in finding an effective intervention during the acute phase of SCI to mitigate the severity of the final injury. My thesis aimed to characterize how hemodynamic parameters are impaired during the acute phase of SCI and if inspired carbon dioxide (CO2) could increase these hemodynamic parameters. We aimed to develop a method to stabilize blood flow (BF) using closed-loop during the acute phase of SCI in mice. I showed that penumbral BF and related hemodynamic parameters are impaired during the acute phase of SCI and that hypercapnia can stabilize these parameters to pre-SCI levels. I then developed a closed-loop system that titrated CO2 to keep penumbral BF around a pre-determined setpoint during the acute phase of SCI. The methods established in this study are Laser Doppler Flowmetry, Near-Infrared Spectroscopy, and O2 MicroOptode technology which have never all been studied in a SCI mouse model. This novel methodology will lead the way for future studies that aim to investigate hemodynamic parameters in a SCI mouse model. This project is significant because a closed-loop system has the potential to be an early therapy targeting the acute phase of SCI.
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Keywords
Blood Flow, Spinal Cord Injury, Hypercapnia
Citation
Grewal, H. (2024). Hypercapnic hemotherapy to stabilize blood flow in the acute phase of spinal cord injury (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.