title: Prevention of epidural fibrosis in rats by local or systemic administration of citicoline.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of citicoline     administration on epidural fibrosis which is a frequent complication of lumbar     disc surgery with no effective treatment or preventive surgical technique.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty Sprague-Dawley female rats undergoing L4-5 right     hemilaminotomy and annular fenestration were arranged in three groups: rats in     Group 1 (control group) and Group 2 (topical citicoline group) were applied 0,9%     saline and 100 μM citicoline on surgical area, respectively, while rats in     Group 3 (systemic citicoline group) received 600 μmol/kg citicoline     intraperitoneally. Rats were sacrificed four weeks later and their vertebral     colons were removed en bloc. Groups were evaluated according to histological     criteria and results were compared using statistical tools.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared     with control group, significantly less epidural fibrosis, dural adhesion,     fibroblast cell density, foreign body reaction, and medulla spinalis retraction     were observed in groups treated with topical and systemic citicoline (groups 2     and 3) (p < 0,001). No significant difference was found with regard to     measured parameters between two treatment groups (p > 0,05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our     study demonstrates for the first time in the literature that citicoline may be     effective for preventing postoperative epidural fibrosis. However, its mechanism     of action and clinical effectiveness must be further investigated.
authors.affiliation: Uludag University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery, Bursa, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Savran
authors.forename: Ahmet
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bekar
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cansev
authors.forename: Sahsene
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tolunay
authors.forename: Ismail Hakki
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Ulus
authors.forename: Mevlut Ozgur
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Taskapilioglu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002452:Cell Count; D002921:Cicatrix / Q000473:pathology; D003566:Cytidine Diphosphate Choline / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017586:Diskectomy; D004824:Epidural Space / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D005347:Fibroblasts; D005355:Fibrosis; D005549:Foreign-Body Reaction / Q000473:pathology; D007274:Injections, Intraperitoneal; D007403:Intervertebral Disc / Q000473:pathology; D007796:Laminectomy; D019635:Neurosurgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects*; D018697:Nootropic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000517:prevention & control*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013131:Spine / Q000473:pathology; D000267:Tissue Adhesions / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D018697:Nootropic Agents; D003566:Cytidine Diphosphate Choline