title: N-methyl-D-aspartate antagonist MK801 improves outcome following traumatic spinal cord injury in rats: behavioral, anatomic, and neurochemical studies.
abstract: Antagonism of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) excitatory amino acid receptors limits tissue damage after experimental cerebral ischemia. Spinal cord trauma leads to a progressive decline in blood flow that is associated with secondary tissue damage. In the present studies, we evaluated the hypothesis that NMDA receptor activation contributes to the pathophysiology of spinal cord injury by examining the effects of the NMDA antagonist MK801 after impact trauma to rat thoracic spinal cords. MK801, in doses of 1.0 and 5.0 mg/kg administered intravenously (IV) at 15 min after trauma, improved long-term neurologic recovery. At a dose of 1.0 mg/kg, the drug reduced histologic changes as well as alterations in certain tissue cations found after spinal trauma. These findings suggest that excitotoxins contribute to the pathophysiology of spinal cord injury and that early treatment with NMDA antagonists may reduce posttraumatic tissue damage.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco.
authors.forename: A I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Faden
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lemke
authors.forename: R P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Simon
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Noble
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001224:Aspartic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000378:metabolism; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects*; D003986:Dibenzocycloheptenes / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016291:Dizocilpine Maleate; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D008297:Male; D016202:N-Methylaspartate; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012701:Serotonin / Q000378:metabolism*; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D003986:Dibenzocycloheptenes; D001224:Aspartic Acid; D012701:Serotonin; D016202:N-Methylaspartate; D016291:Dizocilpine Maleate