title: The ameliorating effect of dantrolene on the morphology of urinary bladder in spinal cord injured rats.
abstract: In animal models of spinal cord injury (SCI), the urinary bladder can undergo significant structural and physiological alterations. Dantrolene has been shown to be neuroprotective by reducing neuronal apoptosis after SCI. Furthermore, in addition to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, it appears to have a beneficial action on voiding, once this drug acts on the external urethral sphincter relaxation. In the present study, we investigated the effects of dantrolene on urinary bladder injury that follows experimental SCI. Forty-six male Wistar rats were laminectomized at T13, and a compressive trauma was performed to induce SCI. After euthanasia, the urinary bladder was removed for gross and histological evaluation. Traumatized animals showed urinary retention with severe hemorrhagic cystitis. Injured animals treated with dantrolene had less bladder hemorrhage and inflammatory infiltrate than those treated with placebo (p<0.05). Our results demonstrate that dantrolene may protect against urinary bladder lesions that follow SCI. Treating spinal cord-injured patients with this agent may be a promising additional therapeutic strategy to alleviate the accompanying inflammatory process. The results of the current study show that dantrolene has protective effects on spinal cord contusion-induced urinary bladder injury. The impaired integrity of bladder morphology was ameliorated by dantrolene treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, School of Veterinary, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. brunobjtorres@yahoo.com.br
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Torres
authors.forename: Rogéria
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Serakides
authors.forename: Fátima
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Caldeira
authors.forename: Mardelene
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gomes
authors.forename: Eliane
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Melo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003556:Cystitis / Q000188:drug therapy; D003620:Dantrolene / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006470:Hemorrhage / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy; D008297:Male; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000187:drug effects; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology*; D001743:Urinary Bladder / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D001750:Urinary Bladder, Neurogenic / Q000188:drug therapy
chemical_list: D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D003620:Dantrolene