title: High-dose ascorbic acid administration improves functional recovery in rats with spinal cord contusion injury.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the effects of different doses of ascorbic acid (AA) on the functional performance of rats subjected to standardized spinal cord injury (SCI).
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into three groups (10 animals in each group): control group: rats were subjected to SCI injury and received intraperitoneal saline administration; normal-dose AA group: rats were subjected to SCI injury and received daily intraperitoneal administration of AA at 100 mg kg(-1) bodyweight; high-dose AA group: rats were subjected to SCI injury and received daily intraperitoneal administration of AA at 200 mg kg(-1) bodyweight. The Basso, Beattie, Bresnahan Locomotor Rating Score (BBB score) and footprint analysis were performed to evaluate the functional performance of the rats in each group, and hematoxylin and eosin staining was performed to evaluate necrosis at the injury site.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At days 14 and 28 after SCI, rats in the high-dose AA group, but not the normal-dose AA group, exhibited significantly better BBB score compared with the control group (P<0.05). Compared with the control and normal-dose AA group, the high-dose AA group also showed increased stride length, decreased stride width and reduced toe dragging (P<0.05). Histological analysis revealed that both the normal- and high-dose AA groups had reduced necrosis in the injury site compared with the control group (P<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  High-dose AA administration during the acute phase post SCI significantly reduced secondary injury-induced tissue necrosis and improved functional performance in rats.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, The 359 Hospital of Chinese PLA, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Shao
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.
authors.forename: X-g
authors.initials: XG
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.
authors.forename: Y-f
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.
authors.forename: Z-x
authors.initials: ZX
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.
authors.forename: Z-j
authors.initials: ZJ
authors.lastname: Luo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D001205:Ascorbic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D007274:Injections, Intraperitoneal; D008124:Locomotion / Q000187:drug effects; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D020127:Recovery of Function / Q000187:drug effects*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D001205:Ascorbic Acid