The 'CatWalk' automated quantitative gait analysis; a novel behavioral
assay for the preclinical assessment of pain
Guido C. Koopmans1, Anne
F. Gabriel1, Elien Pragt1, Frank P.T. Hamers2 and Elbert A.J. Joosten1
1Department of
Anesthesiology and Pain Management, University Hospital of Maastricht,
Maastricht, The Netherlands
2Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Rudolf
Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht,
The Netherlands
Gait disturbances are important signs and symptoms in clinical neurology.
Causes underlying gait disturbances are many like motoneuron disease,
cerebellar disease, Parkinson's disease, stroke, pain. Among the traumatic
causes of locomotor deficits, spinal cord injuries (SCI) take an important
place. Clinically, an extensive and reasonably simple array of tests is
available for the assessment of gait disorders. In animals (quadrupals),
on the contrary, analysis of gait is not that simple.
Recently, an automated gait analysis system, named 'CatWalk', has been
developed. The CatWalk was originally developed to assess functional recovery
following spinal cord injury. The use of CatWalk allows detailed analysis
of very fine locomotor aspects which were previously not detectable in
SCI research.
Next to the assessment of locomotor recovery in SCI models, the CatWalk
has been shown to be valid method for the objective assessment of mechanical
allodynia in animal models of neuropathic pain. The most commonly used
method for testing mechanical allodynia is the application of von Frey's
filaments to the mid-plantar surface of the affected paw. Now a complete
study on the use of the CatWalk in a model of neuropathic pain was performed
by Vrinten and Hamers (2003). They tested rats with a Chronic Constriction
Injury of the sciatic nerve (CCI) both with the well known von Frey filaments
and the CatWalk. From the CatWalk data it was concluded that these rats
minimize contact with the affected paw during locomotion, by reducing
(1) the duration of the stance phase and (2) the pressure applied during
stance. Moreover, these parameters show a high degree of correlation with
mechanical withdrawal thresholds as determined by von Frey filaments.
Our laboratory further extended research on the use of the CatWalk in
both rat and mouse models of neuropathic pain, e.g. CCI in several mice
strains and partial ligation of the sciatic nerve in rats (Seltzer-model).
The most recent experiments using the CatWalk method as an objective tool
in the investigation of mechanical allodynia in various mouse and rat
neuropathic pain models will be presented.
Vrinten,D.H. and Hamers F.P.T. (2003) 'CatWalk' automated quantitative
gait analysis as a novel method to assess mechanical allodynia in the
rat: a comparison with von Frey testing. Pain 102, 203-209.
Paper presented
at Measuring Behavior 2005
, 5th International Conference on Methods and Techniques
in Behavioral Research, 30 August - 2 September 2005, Wageningen, The
Netherlands.
© 2005 Noldus
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