A new model of autonomic dysreflexia induced by gastric distension in the spinal cord-transected rat

Upper gastrointestinal (GI) motility inhibition after spinal cord injury has been classically considered to result from autonomic dysreflexia (AD). Animal models have been designed in rats to evaluate the presence of AD induced by colonic or bladder distension. However, there are no animal models of AD induced by gastric distension (GD). We examined whether controlled GD could induce AD and compared the pattern of hemodynamic responses induced by GD with colonic distensions (CD) and the interaction between them. Male Wistar rats underwent spinal cord transections performed at the level of C7–T1, T4–T5 and T9–T10 (control) vertebrae and the presence of AD was evaluated after 1 day. In animals with C7–T1 lesions, each CD in a series of 4 consecutive CDs triggered AD while GD only triggered AD after the 2 initial distensions in a series of 4 consecutive GDs. In animals with T4–T5 lesions, in a protocol of 4 consecutive CDs or GDs, AD was triggered only by the 2 initial distensions. In 2 other protocols, consisting of 2 consecutive CDs or GDs followed respectively by 2 GDs or CDs, the effect of 2 GDs was attenuated in animals with C7–T1 and T4–T5 lesions but the hemodynamic changes induced by CDs were not affected by prior GDs. In summary, this is a new model of AD triggered by GD in rats. AD is more intense in animals with C7–T1 lesions than after T4–T5 lesions and AD triggered by GD can be attenuated by prior CDs.