Turkish Neurosurgery
Azathioprine as a Neuroprotective Agent in Experimental Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury
Sinan BAHADIR1, Mehmet Bülent ÖNAL2, Fırat NARİN3, İbrahim BAŞAR4, Kazım YİĞİTKANLI5, Murad BAVBEK6, Mustafa İbrahim ZİYAL7
1Amasya University Medicine Faculty, Department of Neurosurgery, Amasya,
2Acıbadem Mehmet Ali Aydınlar University , Vocational School of Health Sciences, Istanbul,
3Van Yuzuncuyil Training and Research Hospital, Neurosurgery Clinic, Van,
4Dicle University School of Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery, Diyarbakir,
5Medicana Bursa Hospital, Neurosurgery Clinic, Bursa,
6Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Department of Neurosurgery, Ankara,
7Marmara University, Department of Neurosurgery, Istanbul,
DOI: 10.5137/1019-5149.JTN.30237-20.2

Aim:Secondary injury in spinal cord trauma results in functional impairment. Many studies focused on different aspects of this complex injury. In this study we evaluated protective effects of azathioprine, a macrophage inhibiting agent, against secondary injur in spinal cord trauma.Material and Methods:A total of 40 Wistar rats were randomly divided into 4 groups. All animals were undergone T8-10 laminectomy. Except group I (control), all animals were exposed to spinal cord trauma at T9 level. Animals in group II (trauma) received no treatment following trauma. Animals in group 3 (treatment) and group IV (vehicle) were given intraperitoneal azathioprine 4mg/kg and saline 2ml respectively 30 minutes after the trauma. Half of the animals in each group were sacrificed 24 hours after injury and specimens were used for biochemical and immunohistochemical evaluations. The rest of the animals were followed 4 weeks for neurological functions. Then, they were sacrificed and histopathological analysis was performed.Results:Significant decrease in apoptotic cells and improved neurological function were observed in the animals treated with azathioprine. Biological and immunohistochemical analysis also showed less oxidative stress in this group compared to those without treatment.Conclusion:Azathioprine, a potent macrophage inhibiting agent, is shown decrease extent of secondary injury following spinal cord trauma.

Corresponding author : Sinan BAHADIR