Figure 2.

Delayed DHA treatment does not promote functional recovery when administered in the subacute phase of SCI. Delayed DHA treatment was administered 3 weeks after cervical spinal hemisection. In the grid exploration test, there are no significant differences in left forelimb (A) and hindlimb (B) misplacements between the vehicle and DHA-treated groups during the period of behavioral assessment. C, D, In the Montoya staircase test, all injured animals lost the ability to displace (gross motor function) and eat (fine motor function) the food pellet after cervical lateral hemisection, from 2 d after injury. The animals treated with either vehicle (blue square) or DHA (red circle) at 3 weeks after injury did not significantly recover food retrieval ability compared with uninjured sham operated animals. Results represent mean ± SEM; n = 5 or 6 animals in each group.