Table 1.
Description of the characteristics of studies included in the meta-analysis
| Study | Animals (body weight) | Model | Groups (n) | Behavioral outcome | Motor function assessment time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| King et al. (2006) | Male Wistar rats (200–250 g) | 1. T8, hemisection | SCI + vehicle (n = 8) | Beam walk | 1, 3, 5, 7 d |
| SCI + DHA, 250 nmol/kg, iv (n = 10) | Horizontal ladder | ||||
| SCI + OA, 250 nmol/kg, iv (n = 10) | BBB | ||||
| SCI + ALA, 250 nmol/kg, iv (n = 5) | |||||
| SCI + AA, 250 nmol/kg, iv (n = 5) | |||||
| 2. T8, contusion | SCI + vehicle (n = 5) SCI + DHA, 250 nmol/kg, iv (n = 5) |
BBB | 1, 4, 6 wk | ||
| Huang et al. (2007) | Female SD rats (230–255 g) | T12, contusion | SCI + vehicle (n = 5) SCI + DHA, 250 nmol/kg, iv (n = 5) SCI + DHA, iv + DHA, 400 mg/kg per day, po (n = 5) |
BBB | 1–14 d three times a week, for 3–6 wk |
| Emon et al. (2011) | Male SD rats (250–300 g) | Contusion | SCI + vehicle (n = 9) SCI + Fish-oil , 5 mL/kg, ip (DHA 72–154.5 mg/kg) (n = 9) |
BBB | 0, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35 d |
| Figueroa et al. (2012) | Female SD rats (200–250 g) | T10, contusion | Sham + vehicle (n = 6) Sham + DHA, 250 nmol/kg, iv (n = 4) SCI + vehicle (n = 9) SCI + DHA, 250 nmol/kg, iv (n = 10) |
BBB | 1, 3, 5, 7 d |
| Figueroa et al. (2013) | Female SD rats (182–212 g ) | T10, contusion | Sham + control diet (n = 8) Sham + DHA diet (DHA 500 mg/kg per day) (n = 19) SCI + control diet (n = 19) SCI + DHA diet (n = 8) |
BBB | 1–8 wk |
| Liu et al. (2015) | Female SD rats (250–300 g) | C5, hemisection | Sham (n = 5) | BBB | 1–14 d |
| SCI + vehicle (n = 5) | Staircase test | ||||
| C. SCI + DHA, 250 nmol/kg, iv (n = 5) | Grid exploration test | ||||
| Figueroa et al. (2016) | Female SD rats | T10, contusion | SCI + control diet (n = 24) SCI + DHA diet (DHA 500 mg/kg per day) (n = 24) |
BBB | 7 d |
| Jiang et al. (2016) | Male SD rats (200–250 g) | T10, contusion | Sham (n = 20) SCI (n = 20) SCI + DHA, 1000 nmol/kg, iv (n = 20) |
BBB Inclined plane test | 1, 3, 7, 21 d |
| Tremoleda et al. (2016) | Male Wistar rats (265 ± 35.4 g) | T10, contusion | Non-injured (n = 6) Sham (n = 8) SCI (n = 10) SCI + vehicle (n = 6) SCI + DHA, 250 nmol/kg, iv (n = 6) |
BBB | 6–7 d |
| Liu et al. (2017) | Female SD rats (250–300 g) | C4–5, hemisection | SCI + vehicle (n = 14) SCI + DHA, 250 nmol/kg, iv (n = 14) SCI + vehicle + rehabilitation training (n = 14) SCI + DHA + rehabilitation training (n = 14) |
Staircase test Grid exploratory test | Staircase test for 1–20 d; grid exploratory test for 1, 2, 3 wk |
| Yu and Guo (2017) | Male SD rats (300 ± 20 g) | T9–10, contusion | Sham (n = 36) SCI (n = 36) SCI + DHA, 500 mg/kg, ip (n = 36) |
BBB | 10, 24, 48, 72 h |
| Manzhulo et al. (2018a) | Female Wistar rats (240 ± 20 g) | T9, compression | Sham + vehicle (n = 14) SCI + vehicle (n = 14) SCI + DHA, 45 mg/kg, ih (n = 14) |
BBB | 1–5 wk |
AA: Arachidonic acid; ALA: α-linolenic acid; BBB: Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan scale; C: Cervical vertebrae; DHA: docosahexaenoic acid; ih: hypodermic injection; ip: intraperitoneal injection; iv: intravenous injection; OA: oleic acid; po: peros; SCI: spinal cord injury; SD: Sprague-Dawley; T: thoracic vertebrae.