title: Experimental study on the protective effects of edaravone against ischemic spinal cord injury.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Reactive free radical species are thought to be involved in ischemic spinal cord injury. We investigated the effects of edaravone (Mitsubishi Pharma Co, Tokyo, Japan), a free radical scavenger, on spinal ischemia-reperfusion injury in a rabbit model. We also sought to estimate free radicals in the spinal cord using the microdialysis method.
  
  
  METHODS
  Spinal cord ischemia was induced in New Zealand White rabbits. The animals were then divided into 4 groups. In the first experiment, which was carried out in group A (non-edaravone treated) and group B (edaravone treated), we assessed neurologic function and evaluated spinal cord histopathology. In the second experiment, which was performed in group C (non-edaravone treated) and group D (edaravone treated), we sequentially estimated the level of free radical species in the spinal cord with the microdialysis method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the first experiment group B showed better neurologic function than group A. The number of viable neurons in the spinal cord gray matter was also higher in group B than in group A. The second experiment revealed that the level of free radical species was lower in group D at 75, 90, and 150 minutes after the beginning of reperfusion compared with levels seen in group C. The appearance of free radical species in the latter group was found to have a biphasic pattern, with peaks at 75 and 150 minutes after the beginning of reperfusion.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Edaravone exerted a significant protective effect on the spinal cord against ischemia-reperfusion injury by suppressing the level of free radical species, which was demonstrated with the microdialysis method.
authors.affiliation: The First Department of Surgery, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan. kazuchi@fj9.so-net.ne.jp
authors.forename: Kazuchika
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Teruhisa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kazui
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Terada
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Umemura
authors.forename: Yasuhiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ikeda
authors.forename: Abul Hasan Muhammad
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Bashar
authors.forename: Katsushi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamashita
authors.forename: Naoki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Washiyama
authors.forename: Takayasu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Kazuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ohkura
authors.forename: Junji
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yasuike
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000983:Antipyrine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000077553:Edaravone; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D011817:Rabbits; D015427:Reperfusion Injury / Q000517:prevention & control*; D020760:Spinal Cord Ischemia / Q000517:prevention & control*
chemical_list: D016166:Free Radical Scavengers; D000077553:Edaravone; D000983:Antipyrine