Effect of post-ischemic hypothermia on spinal cord damage induced by transient ischemic insult in rabbits.
OBJECTIVE
The effect of post-ischemic mild hypothermia applied immediately after induced transient ischemia on the extent of neuronal damage to the spinal cord was investigated in rabbit.


METHODS
A 15-minute period of transient abdominal aortic occlusion for spinal cord ischemia at a rectal temperature of 37.3 +/- 0.3 degrees C was performed just below the left renal vein via median laparotomy. Three groups of rabbits were investigated; Group 1 (n = 8) subjected to ischemia and reperfused at the same temperature for 7 hours, Group 2 (n = 8) also subjected to ischemia and then to 6 hours of systemic hypothermia (32.5 +/- 0.5 degrees C), and Group 3 (n = 8) non-ischemic controls. All the rabbits in Group 1 and Group 2 were sacrificed at 1 week after ischemic injury. Spinal cord sections were examined microscopically to determine the extent of ischemic neuronal damage.


RESULTS
The mean modified Tarlov's score at 1 week after ischemic injury was 0.5 +/- 0.8 in Group 1, whereas it was 4.4 +/- 1.4 (p < .001) in Group 2. The mean total number of surviving neurons within examined sections of the spinal cord was significantly greater in Group 2 than in Group 1 (Group 1: 81 +/- 66.1 vs Group 2: 300.9 +/- 154.1, p < .001).


CONCLUSIONS
Post-ischemic hypothermia induced immediately after reperfusion significantly reduced ischemia-induced neuronal damage in rabbit.
Tsutsumi
Koji
K
Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Ueda
Toshihiko
T
Shimizu
Hideyuki
H
Hashizume
Kenichi
K
Iino
Yoshimi
Y
Kawada
Shiaki
S
D000818:Animals; D007036:Hypothermia, Induced / Q000379:methods; D009474:Neurons / Q000473:pathology; D011817:Rabbits; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000473:pathology; D020760:Spinal Cord Ischemia / Q000473:pathology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy*