TITLE:
Evaluating Catecholamines and Blood Pressure in Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury Utilizing Non-Human Primate Model—Pathological and MRI Correlation in TSCI
AUTHORS:
Heather A. Simmons, Kevin M. Johnson, Timothy Hacker, Dane Schalk, Kevin Brunner, Puja Basu, Casey Fitz, Saverio Capuano III, Jennifer M. Hayes, Shanker Nesathurai
KEYWORDS:
Spinal Cord Injury, Catecholamines, Blood Pressure, Pathology, MRI, Radiology
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Veterinary Medicine,
Vol.15 No.12,
December
11,
2025
ABSTRACT: There are significant gaps in the understanding related to the biochemical, pathophysiological and radiological features of traumatic spinal cord injury in the first hour post-injury. In this context, a validated experimental traumatic spinal cord injury non-human primate model was utilized to evaluate serum catecholamine levels and blood pressure response during this hyperacute time frame. The subject was a single cynomolgus macaque monkey. The lesion was created with an epidural balloon catheter. The serum dopamine, epinephrine, and norepinephrine levels increased subsequent to the deflation of the catheter. The blood pressure, as measured from the aorta at the level of injury, decreased immediately after injury and remained below the baseline level. The histological abnormalities included scattered angular neurons with mild to moderate multifocal vacuolization of the neuropil. This non-human primate model can be utilized to further understand the pathophysiology of traumatic spinal cord injury.