Pathological impairments induced by interstitial implantation of (125)I Seeds in spinal canal of banna mini-pigs

BACKGROUND: Use a banna mini-pig to set up 125I implantation model, and investigate the consequence of radiation-related impairments. METHODS: In present study, (125)I seeds were implanted into spinal canal of T13 level of spine in banna mini-pigs. After operation, the pigs were raised up to 8 months, behavior changes were recorded within this period. After 8 months, spinal cords were collected for pathological analysis. RESULTS: In this study, a (125)I brachytherapy animal model had been successfully established, in the model group, the banna pigs' Tarlov scale decreased from 5 to 2.57 ± 0.36, significant cellular impairments were noted by pathological analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Without any protection and operation improvement, (125)I implantation can cause serious histological impairments and moving difficulty for banna mini-pigs; this present research provides an alternative tool to study spinal 125I brachytherapy.