A review of the physiopathology and animal models of spinal cord injury

Spinal cord injury is a debilitating neurological disease. Despite recent clinical advances in diagnostic methods and survival of patients, there are still challenges in the treatment of patients with SCI. This lack of appropriate treatment is mainly due to the complexity of physiopathology and the various biochemical changes in spinal cord injury. In recent decades, remarkable studies have been reported to identify the physiopathology of spinal cord injury and to discover the cellular and molecular mechanisms of tissue destruction and repair in the damaged spinal cord.  Various animal models have been used to study the primary and secondary phases of spinal cord injury and its progression. In this review, we discuss recent advances in understanding the physiopathology of spinal cord injury. We also describe the SCI animal models to define the mechanisms of spinal damage and the treatment strategies.