EARLY PROTECTIVE EFFECTS OF ILOPROST AFTER EXPERIMENTAL SPINAL-CORD INJURY

This investigation was undertaken to study the early protective effect s of Iloprost, a stable analogue of prostacyclin, after spinal cord in jury in rabbit. Sixteen adult male rabbits (New Zealand Albino) were i njured by application of epidural aneurysm clip. Eight rabbits receive d an intravenous (i.v.) infusion of 30 mu g kg(-1) iloprost, and eight rabbits received an infusion of saline (SF). Treatment with iloprost started immediately after spinal cord injury and continued for one hou r. Evoked potentials were recorded for each rabbit at one, 15, and 60 minutes after the spinal cord injury. Twenty-four hours later, all the rabbits were deeply anesthetized and spinal cords were removed for hi stopathological examinations. There was no meaningful statistical diff erence between cortical somatosensorial evoked potentials (CSEP) of th e saline and iloprost group. However, light and electron microscopic s tudies showed that the iloprost treated group had moderate protection of myelin and axons; and limited edema. These results suggest that int ravenous iloprost treatment after spinal cord injury has a highly prot ective effect without any side effects.