Effects of berberine on neurological recovery after spinal cord injury in rats

Abstract

ObjectiveSecondary inflammation after spinal cord injury is an important cause of neurological dysfunction. At present, there are relatively few effective drugs as an inflammatory inhibitor of spinal cord injury. Berberine is a common inflammatory inhibitor of traditional Chinese medicine extract, so we tried to explore the therapeutic significance of this drug for spinal cord injury.Materials and methodsThe SD rats were randomly divided into three groups: sham operation group(n=30), non‐intervention group(n=30), and Berberine intervention group(n=30). The T10 SCI model was established by Allen's percussion method. BBB score, SEP and MEP latency and amplitude were used to evaluate hind limb function. The water content of spinal cord was measured. The spinal cell structure was observed by HE and Nissl staining and electron microscopy. The motor function was detected by SEP(Somatosensory Evoked Potential) and MEP(motor evoked potential. BBB(Basso‐Beattie‐Bresnahan) score was used to evaluate the hind limb function of rats.ResultsThe BBB score of berberine in SCI model was significantly lower than that in sham operation group from postoperative day 1 to 31. Hindlimb function of Berberine intervention group began to recover faster than the non‐intervention group on day 10 (p < 0.05). The latency of SEP and MEP after spinal cord injury was significantly longer than that of sham operation group (p < 0.05), but there was no significant difference in the latency of SEP and MEP between the two groups (p > 0.05). The amplitude of SEP and MEP in rats after spinal cord injury was significantly lower than that in the sham operation group (P < 0.05). In addition, after berberine treatment, the degree of spinal cord edema in rats decreased to some extent (p < 0.05).ConclusionBerberine can promote the recovery of injured spinal cord to some extent, which may be related to its inflammatory inhibition.