Neurological Severity Score

The functional neurological status of mice after CHI was determined by Neurological Severity Score (NSS), a 10-point scale based on the ability to perform motor and behavioral tasks.³⁶ One point is awarded for failing to perform a task; scores range from 0 (complete success) to 10 (complete failure). The severity of injury was determined by the NSS evaluated at 1 h after CHI and referred to as NSS (1 h). Only mice with NSS (1 h) of 6–8 points (moderate TBI) were included in the study (< 10% were excluded on that basis). Immediately after evaluation of NSS, mice were randomly assigned to treatment groups and NSS was reevaluated during a time course indicated for each experiment. The extent of the recovery, ΔNSS, was used to present the neurological improvement and is calculated as the difference between the NSS at 1 h and NSS evaluated at any subsequent time-point after the trauma. Animals were scored by one observer who was blinded to the treatment groups. It should be noted that the functional neurological status of rats was determined by NSS on a 16-point scale (and not by the 10-point scale used for mice).