Constitutively reduced sensory capacity promotes better recovery after spinal cord-injury (SCI) in blind rats of the dystrophic RCS strain.

Background: We compared functional, electrophysiological and morphological parameters after SCI in two groups of rats Sprague Dawley (SD) rats with normal vision and blind rats from a SD-substrain "Royal College of Surgeons" (SD/RCS) who lose their photoreceptor cells after birth due to a genetic defect in the retinal pigment epithelium. For these animals skin-, intramuscular-, and tendon receptors are major available means to resolve spatial information.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to check whether increased sensitivity in SD/RCS rats would promote an improved recovery after SCI.