Turkish Neurosurgery 2002 , Vol 12 , Num 1-2
THE NEUROPROTECTIVE EFFECTS OF EBSELEN IN EXPERIMENTAL SPİNAL CORD INJURY
Yusuf Atilla ÜNLÜ1, Ekrem KAYA1, Hafize UZUN2, Şeref BARUT1, Ahmet BELCE2, Büge ÖZ3, Ahmet ÇOLAK1
1Taksim Education and Research Hospital, Neurosurgery Service, Istanbul, Turkey
2Istanbul University Cerrahpaşa Medicine Faculty, Department of Biochemistry, Istanbul, Turkey
3Istanbul University Cerrahpaşa Medicine Faculty, Department of Pathology, Istanbul, Turkey
Objective: The neuroprotective effects of ebselen were investigated in a rat spinal cord trauma model. Methods:Thirty-six Wistar albino rats were studied in four groups of nine animals each: sham-operated controls; trauma-only controls; and two ebselen treatment groups (administered 1 hour after injury [El] and administered 12 hours after injury [E12]). Spinal cord trauma was produced using the clip compression method of Rivlin and Tator. The effects of the injury and the efficacy of ebselen were determined based on histopathological findings and levels of lipid peroxidation, superoxide dismutase, and catalase in the spinal cord tissue. The lipid peroxidation, superoxide dismutase, and catalase levels were determined 24 hours after injury.

Results: The mean lipid peroxidation level in the tissue from the trauma-only group was significantly higher than that in the sham-operated controls (p=0.00l), but there were no significant differences between the trauma-only group and the ebselen-treated groups (p=1.00 for El; p=0.565 for E12). The mean superoxide dismutase activity in the trauma-only group was significantly lower than that in the sham-operated control group (p=0.01). The level in the trauma-only group was also significantly lower than the means in the ebselen-treated groups (p=0.030 for El; p=0.033 for E12). Regarding catalase, the mean level in the trauma-only group was significantly lower than that in the sham-operated controls (p=0.004), but there were no significant differences between the findings in the trauma-only group and the ebselen-treated groups (p=1.00 for E1; p=1.00 for E12). Both ebselen-treated groups showed significant histopathological improvement with respect to findings in the trauma-only group.

Conclusion: Administration of a single 10-mg/kg dose of ebselen did not prevent high levels of lipid preoxidation or catalase depression after spinal cord injury in the rat. However, the treatment did raise superoxide dismutase levels, and this helped to repair tissue and preserve tissue architecture. The findings indicate that ebselen may have a potential role in the treatment of acute spinal cord injury. Keywords : Catalase, ebselen, lipid peroxidation, neuroprotection, spinal cord injury, superoxide dismutase

Corresponding author : Ahmet Çolak