title: Pretreatment with erythropoietin attenuates the neurological injury after spinal cord ischemia.
abstract: METHODS
  Experimental study.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the effect of erythropoietin (EPO) pretreatment on spinal cord ischemic injury.
  
  
  METHODS
  Experimental Research Center at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Korea.
  
  
  METHODS
  Rats were treated with either 1000 IU kg(-1) of EPO (EPO group, n=8) or saline (control group, n=8) 24 h before ischemia. Spinal cord ischemia was induced using a balloon-tipped catheter placed on the proximal descending aorta in the control group and the EPO group, but not in the sham group (n=8). Neurological function was assessed using the motor deficit index (MDI; 0=normal, 6=complete paralysis) until 7 days after reperfusion, and histological examination of spinal cord was performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At the first day after reperfusion, the EPO group demonstrated a significantly lower MDI compared with the control group (2.0 (0.3-2.0) vs 4.0 (3.0-4.8), median (interquartile range); EPO group vs control group, respectively; P=0.002). This trend was sustained until 7 days after reperfusion (1.0 (1.0-1.8) vs 4.5 (3.3-5.0); EPO group vs control group, respectively; P=0.001), and more normal motor neurons (29.9±3.1 vs 21.4±3.4, mean±s.d.; EPO group vs control group, respectively; P<0.001) were observed. However, compared with the sham group, the EPO group displayed a significantly higher MDI (0.0, sham group) and fewer intact motor neurons (37.8±5.5, sham group; P<0.001, sham vs control group).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pretreatment with EPO significantly attenuates neurological injury following spinal cord ischemia, although it cannot completely abolish the ischemic injury.
authors: Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea.
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Hwang
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Huh
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Kim
authors: Y
authors: Y
authors: Jeon
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Cho
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Han
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004921:Erythropoietin / Q000235:genetics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015427:Reperfusion Injury / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D020760:Spinal Cord Ischemia / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*
chemical_list: D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D004921:Erythropoietin