engleski

The influence of nimodipine on the spinal cord free fatty acid content after experimental spinal cord injury in rabbits

Spinal cord injury (SCI) often results in nerve tissue damage followed by motor and sensory deficit. A secondary injury after a spinal cord trauma involves complex neurochemical, cellular and molecular cascades leading to a variable degree of neurological impairment. SCI triggers a variety of biochemical processes including an influx of extracellular Ca2+, activation of membrane phospholipases, liberation of free fatty acids (FFAs), diacylglycerols, eicosanoids, lipid proxides and free radicals. These lipid metabolites along with abnormal ion homeostasis may be involved in cell injury and cell death. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of nimodipine, the calcium channel blocker, on the spinal cord FFAs level in rabbits with SCI. The study was carried out on adult rabbits. Laminectomy was followed by contusion of the spinal cord, using a modification of the technique of Albin. The animals of the control group were drug naive, all other animals were nimodipine-treated. Nimodipine was injected i.v. (0.1, 0.3 and 1.0 mg/kg body weight) immediately after the injury and during the eight subsequent days. Spinal cord samples from the impact injury site were taken and frozen in liquid nitrogen. Total lipids were isolated and purified by a modification of the method of Folch. FFAs were separated from the total lipid extract by preparative thin-layer chromatography (TLC), converted to the corresponding methyl esters and identified using gas chromatography (GC). The concentrations of all analysed FFAs were increased in the spinal cord after neurotrauma, in comparison to control tissues. Treatment of injured rabbits with nimodipine resulted in a significant decrease in spinal cord FFAs and exerted a positive effect on neurotrauma-induced motor impairment. These results indicate a mechanism whereby nimodipine protects CNS tissue from neuronal damage caused by trauma, and suggest that it may be useful for the treatment of spinal cord injury.

free fatty acid; nimodipine; spinal cord injury

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