Progesterone decreases cortical and sub-cortical edema in young and aged ovariectomized rats with brain injury.
OBJECTIVE
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) -induced brain edema can be reduced by acute progesterone (PROG) treatment in young adult males and females, and in aged males. To extend these findings we tested these hypotheses: 1. Acute PROG treatment post-TBI will reduce cortical edema in aged females as much as in young adults. 2. TBI will induce edema in sub-cortical structures (SCS): the thalamus (TH), hypothalamus (HT), brain stem (BS) and anterior pituitary (AP). 3. Acute, systemic PROG treatment post-TBI will reduce edema in SCS.


METHODS
Young adult (n = 42) and aged (n = 40), bilaterally ovariectomized rats were given medial frontal cortical (MFC) contusion injury, treated with PROG (16 mg/kg body weight) or vehicle at 1, 6 and 24 hours post-injury and killed at 6, 24 and 48 hours post-injury. Their brains were removed and the target areas isolated and measured for water content.


RESULTS
TBI induced cortical and delayed sub-cortical edema. Acute PROG treatment decreased this edema. At 6 hours post-TBI serum PROG levels were substantially elevated in both young and aged, PROG-treated, groups, but were higher in the latter.


CONCLUSIONS
Acute PROG treatment post-TBI could prove an effective intervention to prevent or attenuate systemic, post-injury cortical and sub-cortical edema in young and aged females.
Kasturi
Badrinarayanan S
BS
Brain Research Laboratory, Department of Emergency Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. bkastur@emory.edu
Stein
Donald G
DG
D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology*; D001929:Brain Edema / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D010052:Ovariectomy; D011374:Progesterone / Q000097:blood / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011372:Progestins / Q000097:blood / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013997:Time Factors
D011372:Progestins; D011374:Progesterone