engleski

INDOMETHACIN AND HYPERBARIC OXYGENATION ATTENUATES ALTERATIONS IN SOMATOSENSORY EVOKED POTENTIALS AFTER TRAUMA TO THE SPINAL CORD: AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY IN RABBITS

Spinal cord trauma is a serious clinical situation, the pathophysiology of which is still poorly, understood. Several events occur in and around the primary injury within minutes to few hours after the injury. They include alterations in bioelectrical activity, release of neurochemicals, increased microvascular permeabiliy, occurrence of edema, reduction of blood flow and subcellular reactions that may result in permanent cell damage. Somatosensory evoked potentials (SEP) are in a strong correlation with trauma changes, due to cord compression and offer an exact method for assessment of a cord function. The potential efficacy of indomethacin, a potent inhibitor of endogenous prostaglandin synthesis and hyperbaric oxygenation (HO), a potent reducer of tissue hypoxia, on spinal cord evoked potentials was examined in a rabbit model. Rabbits of 2.5 - 3.5 kg body weight of both sexes were used. Using the technique of Albin and all, medial dorsal lumbar laminectomy, under pentobarbital anaesthesia ( 30 mg/kg intravenously ) was done. In some animals laminectomy was followed by contusion of the spinal cord, provoked by a strike of 150 gcm. All the animals have received HO or indomethacin immediately after the performed surgery and during the eight subsequent days in the doses of 0.3; 1.0 or 3.0 mg/kg intravenously once a day. SEP were recorded immediately after the surgery and nine days after that. Latencies of the maximal negative peak were measured. The animals have been esposed to HO immediately after the trauma and during the eight subsequent days, at 222.86 kPa pressure of 100% oxygen, lasting 45 minutes. The spinal cord trauma of l50 gcm produced a spontaneously irreversible paraplegia with significant abnormality in the waveform of the SEP. Indomethacin and HO have shown no influence on motor activiy in rabbits with non-injured spinal cord. Opposite to that, the achieved results have indicated that HO and indomethacin reduced latencies of SEP in the traumatised animals.

indomethacin; spinal cord; evoked potential; rabbit

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