Therapeutic Hypothermia Following Traumatic Spinal Injury: Morphological and Functional Correlates.
Abstract
The primary objective of experiments carried out during the second year focused on determining the behavioral significance of neuroprotective effects achieved by systemic hypothermia following moderate spinal cord injury. In these experiments moderate hypothermia was initiated 30 minutes post-injury for a period of four hours. Two days post-injury we initiated the behavioral assessment of locomotor function. In anticipation of future therapeutic applications of combined hypothermia and pharmacological treatment protocols, a second purpose of experiments during the second year was to evaluate the morphological and behavioral effects of an NMDA antagonist and nitric oxide synthase inhibitor (agmatine) following traumatic spinal cord injury. The major findings of these studies have shown that significant differences are observed in the behavioral assessment scores of animals undergoing hyperthermia compared to animals receiving normothermic treatment. Similarly, significant differences were observed following systemic administration of agmatine for 14 days post-injury. Unfortunately, no synergistic or additive effects were achieved when agmatine and hypothermia were combined. Overall, the results support the original hypothesis of this proposal that whole body hypothermia is capable of producing enhanced functional recovery following traumatic spinal cord injury.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1999
- Accession Number
- ADA360923
Entities
People
- Robert P. Yezierski
Organizations
- University of Miami