Baseline cystometric parameters in conscious and anesthetized sheep: experimental data and systematic review.

Objective: To characterize cystometry in conscious and anesthetized sheep, including bladder response to sacral root electrical stimulation, thereby providing a baseline set of values.

Methods: Single-fill cystometries were repeated in adult mule ewes both conscious (n = 5) and under general anesthesia (18) using a commercial system. Parameters including bladder capacity, detrusor (bladder) pressure, urethral opening pressure, bladder compliance, number of nonvoiding detrusor contractions, and bladder pressure change in response to electrical stimulation of the sacral roots under general anesthesia are reported.

Transplantation of encapsulated autologous olfactory ensheathing cell populations expressing chondroitinase for spinal cord injury: A safety and feasibility study in companion dogs.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) can cause irreversible paralysis, with no regenerative treatment clinically available. Dogs with natural SCI present an established model and can facilitate translation of experimental findings in rodents to people. We conducted a prospective, single arm clinical safety study in companion dogs with chronic SCI to characterize the feasibility of intraspinal transplantation of hydrogel-encapsulated autologous mucosal olfactory ensheathing cell (mOEC) populations expressing chondroitinase ABC (chABC).

The Design of a Low Noise, Multi-Channel Recording System for Use in Implanted Peripheral Nerve Interfaces.

In the development of implantable neural interfaces, the recording of signals from the peripheral nerves is a major challenge. Since the interference from outside the body, other biopotentials, and even random noise can be orders of magnitude larger than the neural signals, a filter network to attenuate the noise and interference is necessary. However, these networks may drastically affect the system performance, especially in recording systems with multiple electrode cuffs (MECs), where a higher number of electrodes leads to complicated circuits.

Delivery of chondroitinase by canine mucosal olfactory ensheathing cells alongside rehabilitation enhances recovery after spinal cord injury.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) can cause chronic paralysis and incontinence and remains a major worldwide healthcare burden, with no regenerative treatment clinically available. Intraspinal transplantation of olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) and injection of chondroitinase ABC (chABC) are both promising therapies but limited and unpredictable responses are seen, particularly in canine clinical trials. Sustained delivery of chABC presents a challenge due to its thermal instability; we hypothesised that transplantation of canine olfactory mucosal OECs genetically modified ex vivo by lentiviral transduction to express chABC (cOEC-chABC) would provide novel delivery of chABC and synergistic therapy.

Stiffness-matched biomaterial implants for cell delivery: clinical, intraoperative ultrasound elastography provides a 'target' stiffness for hydrogel synthesis in spinal cord injury.

Safe hydrogel delivery requires stiffness-matching with host tissues to avoid iatrogenic damage and reduce inflammatory reactions. Hydrogel-encapsulated cell delivery is a promising combinatorial approach to spinal cord injury therapy, but a lack of clinical spinal cord injury stiffness measurements is a barrier to their use in clinics. We demonstrate that ultrasound elastography - a non-invasive, clinically established tool - can be used to measure spinal cord stiffness intraoperatively in canines with spontaneous spinal cord injury.

Methods of olfactory ensheathing cell harvesting from the olfactory mucosa in dogs.

Olfactory ensheathing cells are thought to support regeneration and remyelination of damaged axons when transplanted into spinal cord injuries. Following transplantation, improved locomotion has been detected in many laboratory models and in dogs with naturally-occurring spinal cord injury; safety trials in humans have also been completed. For widespread clinical implementation, it will be necessary to derive large numbers of these cells from an accessible and, preferably, autologous, source making olfactory mucosa a good candidate.