Abstract
The effective treatment or cure of motoneuron disease will require understanding the disease processes that precede irreversible cell loss. To study these early stages, and to evaluate potential treatments in relevant animal models, requires a sensitive functional assay. To this end, we sought to determine whether the gait pattern of SOD1 transgenic mice changed prior to overt symptoms. Using a simplified video-based approach we compared the treadmill gait of C57BL/6J and B6.SOD1 transgenic mice at 8 and 10 weeks of age. B6.SOD1 mice had significantly longer stride and stance times than controls by 8 weeks. Consistent with disease progression, hindpaw measures of B6.SOD1 mice showed larger changes than front paws. Differences between control and B6.SOD1 mice increased at 10 weeks, but only because repeat testing caused habituation in control mice to a greater extent than in B6.SOD1 mice. Together the results demonstrate that simplified gait analysis is sensitive to early processes of motor system disease in mice.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
