Riluzole improves measures of oxidative stress following traumatic spinal cord injury

Rats received a contusion injury to the spinal cord followed by treatment w ith riluzole (a glutamate release inhibitor, 8 mg/kg), methylprednisolone ( MP 30 mg/kg) or both. At 4 h following injury, spinal cords were removed an d synaptosomes prepared and examined using five measures of oxidative stres s. Riluzole treatment was found to improve mitochondrial function, and enha nce glutamate and glucose uptake. As expected, MP treatment was found to re duce lipid peroxidation, but also improved glutamate and glucose uptake. In terestingly, the combination treatment was found to be effective in improvi ng all five measures of oxidative stress. The results of this study clearly demonstrate the potential beneficial effects of a combination approach in the treatment of oxidative stress events in traumatic spinal cord injury. ( C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.