Norepinephrine levels in experimental spinal cord trauma. Part 1: Biochemical study of hemorrhagic necrosis.
Levels of norepinephrine (NE) in the spinal cord tissue of nontraumatized cats are highest in the cervical and lumbar enlargements. A rather uniform but slightly increasing concentration gradient from cephalad to caudad is observed in the thoracic segments. A 500 gm-cm trauma at the T-5 or C-7 spinal cord segment did not demonstrate any significant increase in NE levels measured sequentially over a 4-hour period after trauma. Dopamine levels could not be detected in the nontraumatized or traumatized cat spinal cords. Four traumatized cats treated with alpha methyl tyrosine, a tyrosine hydroxylase inhibitor, and followed clinically for 5 months showed no improvement in neurological function when compared to untreated traumatized cats. This study does not support the norepinephrine hypothesis of experimental spinal cord trauma.
D000818:Animals; D002415:Cats; D004298:Dopamine / Q000032:analysis; D006470:Hemorrhage; D006614:Hindlimb; D008781:Methyltyrosines / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009068:Movement / Q000187:drug effects; D009336:Necrosis; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000032:analysis*; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000032:analysis*; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism*
D008781:Methyltyrosines; D004298:Dopamine; D009638:Norepinephrine