Objective and Quantitative Analysis to Assess Gait Abnormalities in Guinea Pigs with Osteoarthritis
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Date
2011-06
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Publisher
The Ohio State University
Abstract
Osteoarthritis is a painful, debilitating disease caused by the breakdown of cartilage in the joints. It is a chronic, progressive condition and is the leading cause of long-term disability in developed nations. The Dunkin-Hartley (DH) guinea pig is a naturally occurring model of OA that spontaneously develops the disease at around 3 months of age. DH guinea pigs experience histological changes in the development and progression of OA in their knee joints that is similar to humans. The CatWalk® gait analysis system is a computer-aided, video based apparatus, used to assess gait abnormalities in small animals. For this experiment, we looked at the effects of OA on the gait of the DH guinea pigs, as well as a control guinea pig strain, using the CatWalk®. We also assessed gait using a more traditional method called ink-blotting. We then treated the animals with a nonsteroidal, anti-inflammatory agent (NSAID) and studied its effectiveness at influencing gait parameters using the CatWalk®. We concluded that the CatWalk® was an effective technique to detect gait abnormalities between guinea pig strains with varying degrees of disease progression. We also demonstrated that treating the DH guinea strain with an NSAID improved several gait abnormalities brought about by OA, including an increase in the walking velocity, base of support, print area, stride length, and swing speed.
Description
Biological Sciences Dean’s Undergraduate Research Fund
Keywords
osteoarthritis, Dunkin Hartly, gait analysis