title: Neuroprotective effects of rosuvastatin against traumatic spinal cord injury in rats.
abstract: Rosuvastatin, which is a potent statin, has never been studied in traumatic spinal cord injury. The aim of this study was to investigate whether rosuvastatin treatment could protect the spinal cord after experimental spinal cord injury. Rats were randomized into the following five groups of eight animals each: control, sham, trauma, rosuvastatin, and methylprednisolone. In the control group, no surgical intervention was performed. In the sham group, only laminectomy was performed. In all the other groups, the spinal cord trauma model was created by the occlusion of the spinal cord with an aneurysm clip. In the spinal cord tissue, caspase-3 activity, tumor necrosis factor-alpha levels, myeloperoxidase activity, malondialdehyde levels, nitric oxide levels, and superoxide dismutase levels were analyzed. Histopathological and ultrastructural evaluations were also performed. Neurological evaluation was performed using the Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan locomotor scale and the inclined-plane test.After traumatic spinal cord injury, increases in caspase-3 activity, tumor necrosis factor-alpha levels, myeloperoxidase activity, malondialdehyde levels, and nitric oxide levels were detected. In contrast, the superoxide dismutase levels were decreased. After the administration of rosuvastatin, decreases were observed in the tissue caspase-3 activity, tumor necrosis factor-alpha levels, myeloperoxidase activity, malondialdehyde levels, and nitric oxide levels. In contrast, tissue superoxide dismutase levels were increased. Furthermore, rosuvastatin treatment showed improved results concerning the histopathological scores, the ultrastructural score and the functional tests. Biochemical, histopathological, ultrastructural analysis and functional tests revealed that rosuvastatin exhibits meaningful neuroprotective effects against spinal cord injury.
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Health, Kirikkale Yüksek İhtisas Hospital, Department of Neurosurgery, Kirikkale, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ramazan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kahveci
authors.affiliation: Turgut Ozal University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Emre Cemal
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Gökçe
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Health, Fatih Sultan Mehmet Education and Research Hospital, Department of Neurosurgery, Beyin Cerrahi Servisi, 34752 Ataşehir, Istanbul, Turkey. Electronic address: boragurer@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Bora
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gürer
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Health, Diskapi Yildirim Beyazit Education and Research Hospital, Department of Pathology, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Aysun
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gökçe
authors.affiliation: Kirikkale University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry, Kirikkale, Turkey.
authors.forename: Uçler
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Kisa
authors.affiliation: Turgut Ozal University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Duran Berker
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Cemil
authors.affiliation: Hacettepe University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Anatomy, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mustafa Fevzi
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Sargon
authors.affiliation: Bülent Ecevit University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, Zonguldak, Turkey.
authors.forename: Fatih Ozan
authors.initials: FO
authors.lastname: Kahveci
authors.affiliation: Kirikkale University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry, Kirikkale, Turkey.
authors.forename: Nurkan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Aksoy
authors.affiliation: Turgut Ozal University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Bülent
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Erdoğan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005464:Fluorobenzenes / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011743:Pyrimidines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D000068718:Rosuvastatin Calcium; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000473:pathology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D013449:Sulfonamides / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013904:Thoracic Vertebrae; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D005464:Fluorobenzenes; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D011743:Pyrimidines; D013449:Sulfonamides; D000068718:Rosuvastatin Calcium
keywords: Methylprednisolone; Neuroprotection; Rat; Rosuvastatin; Spinal cord injury; Trauma