Martin Freitag1, Nadja Walder2, Jens Hartmann2, Heinz Redl2, Peter Parzer3, Bram Stieltjes1
1Quantitative Image-based Disease Characterization, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Baden-Wrttemberg, Germany; 2Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Experimental and Clinical Traumatology, Research Center of the AUVA, Vienna, Austria; 3Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Section Disorders of Personality Development, Heidelberg, Germany
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the short-term therapeutic effect of recombinant Erythropoietin therapy in rats with spinal cord injury (SCI) using physical assessment and manganese enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MEMRI). Both the physical performance and the manganese uptake improved significantly in the treated group compared to untreated controls. Therefore, we conclude that MEMRI is well suited for the evaluation of EPO induced therapy effects in SCI and that MEMRI may be suitable for future in vivo longitudinal therapy studies.