title: A preliminary histopathological study of the effect of agmatine on diffuse brain injury in rats.
abstract: The present study evaluates the effects of agmatine on histopathological damage following traumatic injury using a clinically relevant model of diffuse brain injury. A total of 27 male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 200-225 g were anaesthetised and subjected to head trauma using Marmarou's impact-acceleration model. The rats were then separated into two main groups: one was treated with agmatine and the other with saline for up to 4 days immediately after head trauma. Rats from both groups were killed 1, 3 or 8 days post-injury. The brains were examined histopathologically and scored according to the axonal, neuronal and vascular changes associated with diffuse brain injury. There were no significant differences between the groups at 1 day or 3 days after trauma, but evaluation after 8 days revealed a significant improvement in the group treated with agmatine. Our data indicate that agmatine has a beneficial effect in diffuse brain injury and should be trialled for therapeutic use in the management of this condition.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Aziziye Research Hospital, Medical School, Ataturk University, 25070-Yenisehir, Erzurum, Turkey. goksinsengul@gmail.com
authors.forename: Goksin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sengul
authors.forename: Erhan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Takci
authors.forename: Umit Ali
authors.initials: UA
authors.lastname: Malcok
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Akar
authors.forename: Fazli
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Erdogan
authors.forename: Hakan Hadi
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Kadioglu
authors.forename: Ismail Hakki
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Aydin
mesh_terms: D000376:Agmatine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology*; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000187:drug effects; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D016489:Head Injuries, Closed / Q000150:complications; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents; D000376:Agmatine