Benzodiazepine receptors influence spinal cord evoked potentials and edema following trauma to the rat spinal cord.
The possibility that diazepam will influence spinal cord evoked potentials (SCEP), edema formation and cell changes following spinal cord injury (SCI) was examined in a rat model. The SCI was produced in equithesin anaesthetised animals by making a longitudinal incision (about 2 mm deep and 5 mm long) in the right dorsal horn of the T10-11 segments. The SCEP were recorded from the epidural space of the T9 segment after stimulation of the right tibial and sural nerves. The SCEP consisted of a small positive peak followed by a broad and high negative peak. Infliction of trauma to the rats resulted in an immediate and pronounced decrease of the maximal negative peak (MNP) amplitude. The spinal cord edema and cell changes were markedly pronounced 5 h after injury. Pretreatment with diazepam attenuated the early SCEP changes induced by the trauma and reduced the later development of edema and cell injury. These results suggest that benzodiazepine receptors are involved in trauma induced alterations in SCEP changes, edema formation and cell injury, not reported earlier.
Winkler
T
T
Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden.
Sharma
H S
HS
Stålberg
E
E
Westman
J
J
D000818:Animals; D003975:Diazepam / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004487:Edema / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D058785:GABA-A Receptor Agonists; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D011963:Receptors, GABA-A / Q000502:physiology*; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000502:physiology*; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*
D058785:GABA-A Receptor Agonists; D011963:Receptors, GABA-A; D003975:Diazepam