Abstract #3189

DTI Abnormalities in Sheep Spinal Decompression Sickness: Anisotropy Differences and Histological Comparison

Elizabeth B. Hutchinson¹, Ian Rowland², Aleksey Sobakin³, Neil Kleman⁴, Dandan Sun⁴, Peter Ferrazzano⁵, Marlowe Eldridge⁵, Mary Elizabeth Meyerand⁶

¹Neuroscience Training Program, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA; ²Radiology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA; ³Veteranary Medicine, University of Wisconsin; ⁴Neurosurgery, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA; ⁵Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA; ⁶Medical Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA

Spinal cord injury due to decompression sickness (DCS) in sheep was investigated using DTI and histology. An injury profile of decreased white matter FA was identified in cases of acute and chronic injury. Histology using FluoroJade, a marker of apoptotic cells, was then performed and there was positive staining in the white matter of acutely injured spinal cord, but not control samples. This study identifies DTI biomarkers of two types of spinal cord damage within spinal DCS and correlates DTI changes with histological information.