Motor deficit score (MDS) and post-MDS motor neuron cell numbers in rats with spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury, grouped according to Simvastatin treatment

This dataset consists of two Excel spreadsheets containing:<br>1. <b>MDS (raw).xlsx</b>: Motor deficit score (MDS) data per experiment group at various time points2. <b>number of normal motor neuron.xlsx: </b>counts of normal motor neurons within the anterior horns of the spinal cord following final MDS evaluation per experiment groupNeurological function was evaluated with hind limbs motor function after reperfusion for 7 days. The observer was blinded to the group assignments. Groups were assigned based on MDS at 8 hours, 1, 3, 5 and 7 days after reperfusion (see more detailed description below. Article abstract:Background: Spinal cord ischemic injury remains a serious complication of open surgical and endovascular aortic procedures. Simvastatin has been reported to be associated with neuroprotective effect after spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury.The aim of the study associated with this data was to determine the therapeutic efficacy of starting simvastatin after spinal cord IR injury in a rat model.Methods: In adult Sprague-Dawley rats, spinal cord ischemia was induced using a balloon-tipped catheter placed in the descending thoracic aorta. The animals were then randomly divided into 4 groups: group A (control); group B (0.5 mg/kg simvastatin); group C (1 mg/kg simvastatin); and group D (10 mg/kg simvastatin). Simvastatin was administered orally upon reperfusion for 5 days. Neurological function of the hind limbs was evaluated for 7 days after reperfusion and recorded using a motor deficit score (MDS) (0: normal, 5: complete paraplegia). The number of normal motor neurons within the anterior horns of the spinal cord was counted after final MDS evaluation. Then, the spinal cord was harvested for histopathological examination.