Prevention of reperfusion injury of the spinal cord in aortic surgery:: An experimental study

Purpose. We designed an experimental study to show the effects of some agents in order to prevent reperfusion injury of the spinal cord. Methods. Twenty rabbits were used and were divided into two groups in our study. Infrarenal abdominal aortic occlusion, between renal arteries and iliac bifurcations, was applied to the subjects in group 1 for only 30 min; in the group 2 subjects, on the other hand, intra-aortic diltiazem, N-acetylcysteine, and catalase combinations were applied after infrarenal abdominal aortic occlusion. The spinal cord functions of the subjects were assessed at the 48th hour after the operation according to Tarlov scoring, then cord tissue samples were taken for biochemical and histopathological studies. Results. The group 2 subjects had better neurological functions than group 1 subjects (P < 0.01). In group 2; superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase levels increased, while malondialdehyde and xanthine oxidase levels decreased as compared with group 1 (P < 0.05). A histopathological examination showed the group 2 samples to have fewer bleeding points and less neuron loss. Conclusions. We concluded that antioxidant agent combinations (diltiazem, N-acetylcysteine, and catalase) applied after ischemia might thus help protect the spinal cord against ischemia and reperfusion injury.