[Neurobehavior changes of rats after diffuse axonal injury and the treatment effect with cyclosporin A].
OBJECTIVE
To observe rat's memory and learning behavior after diffuse axonal injury (DAI) and evaluate the treatment efficacy of cyclosporin A (CsA).


METHODS
Twenty-four SD rats were divided into three groups: non-injured group (n=8), vehicle-treated group (n=8) to whom saline was applied and CsA-treated group (n=8). By analyzing behavior changes of rats in Morris water maze and dark-avoidance test, the CsA treatment efficacy was evaluated.


RESULTS
The Morris water maze was used to observe rats' memory and learning behavior. During a place-training experiment, the latency to find platform in each trial descended remarkably. Vehicle-treated group exhibited acquisition deficits compared with CsA-treatment group. The latency in each trial was longer in vehicle-treated group (F=60.44, P<0.01). With continued training, the rats' performance in CsA-treatment group was better than those in control brain-injured group in crossing platform test (F=-4.00, P<0.01), but no difference with the normal group. In dark-avoidance test, the rats in normal control group had remembered the electricity shock very fast, and seldom entered into dark chamber. The mean latency time was (292.88+/-12.61) seconds. The latency time of rats in CsA-treated group was (224.75+/-55.95) seconds. The latency time of rats in vehicle-treated group was (153.25+/-69.36) seconds. The time of rats in CsA-treated group was shorter than the time of vehicle-treated group animal(F=-71.50, P<0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
The rats' memory function is impaired after DAI. The learning acquisition and memory retention impairments are ameliorated after administration of CsA.
Yin
Wei-dong
WD
Department of Neurosurgery, General Navy Hospital of PLA, Beijing 100037, China.
Xu
Bai-nan
BN
Wang
Xiao-gang
XG
D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects; D016572:Cyclosporine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D020833:Diffuse Axonal Injury / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects*; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D016572:Cyclosporine