Chronic MR imaging changes in experimental spinal cord injury

MR imaging was performed on excised spinal cords of Sprague-Dawley rats subjected to weight drop injury (modified Allen technique). Animals were killed 3 hours, 24 hours, and 3, 7, 14, 21, and 28 days after injury. The length of the resulting lesion was measured on sagittal long repetition time/long echo time images by an investigator who was unaware of the results of functional evaluation. Lesion length was correlated with a combined behavioral score representing a battery of eight tests of sensory and motor function performed just before death. There was a statistically significant correlation between lesion length and the combined behavior score