FIG. 4.

Sulforaphane (SF) administered after spinal cord injury (SCI) improved the Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan (BBB) score and subscore and horizontal ladder performance. After spinal cord contusion, animals received IP injections of corn oil (control; n=7), low-dose SF (10 mg/kg; n=8), or high-dose SF (50 mg/kg; n=5) at 10 min and 72 h after injury. (A) Hindlimb motor function was quantified using the BBB locomotor rating scale periodically for 35 days after injury. All groups displayed the same partial recovery (BBB score=∼12) during the first 14 days, then diverged over the last 3 weeks, with high-dose SF treatment resulting in a trend toward enhanced hindlimb function from days 21–35 post-injury (**p<0.1). p Values were calculated by general estimating equation (GEE) analysis by using an autoregressive matrix. (B) Subtle improvements in hindlimb motor function were quantified using the BBB subscoring method starting 7 days after injury. The high-dose SF (50 mg/kg) group showed improvements in BBB subscore compared to the control group, starting 14 days after injury and continuing to day 35. (C) Average improvement in BBB subscores between days 14 and 35 (mean±standard error of the mean [SEM]) are shown. The high-dose SF (50 mg/kg) treatment resulted in a significant improvement in BBB subscore over this time period compared to control animals (*p<0.05 by the Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney U test). (D) At 3 and 5 weeks after injury, fine motor control was assessed using the horizontal ladder test. The total number of major hindlimb missteps was counted for each animal and expressed as the percent of total hindlimb steps attempted. The change in the number of major missteps between weeks 3 and 5 was calculated for each animal, and the group averages (mean±SEM) were established. The high-dose SF group showed a significant decrease in severe missteps between weeks 3 and 5 compared to the control group (*p<0.05 by the Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney U test).