Abstract
Objective To explore the protective effect ofbreviscapine on rats with acute spinal cord injury (ASCI) and its mechanism.Methods Forty-six adult SD rats were used to establish the moderate spinal cord injury models at the T9 segment with modified Allen's method,and equally divided into 2 groups (n=23) randomly.The rats in the experimental group were given breviscapine 6 mg/kg per day for 14 d by intraperitoneal injection,while the rats in the control group were given normal saline of same volume.The concentration of malondialdehyde (MDA) and activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) of the injured spinal cord tissues were measured with thiobarbituric acid (TBA) method and Xanthine oxidase method,respectively,8 h,and 1,2,3 and 4 d after the injury; cell apoptosis index in the spinal cord was observed by terminal deoxyribonucleotide transferase-mediated dUTP labeling (TUNEL) at the end of 2,4 and 6 weeks of injury; and the changes ofhindlimbs locomotor function was assessed using Basso-Beattie-Bresnahan (BBB) scale.Results As compared with those in the control group,the SOD activity and the BBB scale scores in the experimental group were significantly increased (P＜0.05),and the concentration of MDA and the apoptotic index (18.8％±3.1％ and 25.7％±3.2％,respectively) in the spinal cord of experimental group were decreased markedly at each observation time point (P＜0.05).Conclusions Breviscapine could protect the spinal cord from secondary lesion by alleviating the impaired microcirculation damage and lipid peroxidation,inhibiting the production of free radicals and cell apoptosis at early stage of ASCI.Meanwhile,Breviscapine could promote the recovery speed and final recovery degree of locomotor function in rats. Key words: Breviscapine; Spinal cord injury; Free radical; Apoptosis
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