EFFECT OF 21-AMINOSTEROID PRETREATMENT IN COMPRESSION TRAUMA TO THE SPINAL-CORD

The present work was performed to establish whether pre-injury adminis tration of the 27-Aminosteroid, U-74389F, is beneficial for treatment of acute spinal cord trauma in rats, as it has been demonstrated that the bolus administration of the same compound one hour after injury fa cilitates the return of the spinal cord function as measured by electr ophysiological recordings in this compression animal model of spinal c ord trauma. Cortical somatosensory evoked potentials (CSSEPs) were rec orded as an indicator of spinal cord function before and after a sever e compression injury. Vital signs and the CSSEPs were monitored up to five hours post-injury. U-4389F treatment was given as a single inject ion (15 mg kg(-1)) one hour prior to the injury which was followed by a continuous infusion (3 mg kg(-1) h(-1)) during the procedure. The CS SEPs were abolished immediately after this injury both, in the untreat ed and treated animal groups. The majority of the treated animals (80% ) demonstrated recovery of the CSSEPs within the second hour post-inju ry. The control group showed 40% recovery at this time period. At five hours post-injury, recovery rates were 47% and 87% for control and tr eated groups respectively. We conclude that the administration of the 21-Aminosteroid, U74389F, one hour prior to spinal cord injury facilit ates the return of spinal cord function as measured by CSSEPs in a com pression rat model of acute spinal cord trauma, supporting and verifyi ng our previous experiences using the same compound as i.v. bolus inje ctions one, two and three hours after the trauma, respectively.