Study design: A prospective, randomized, blinded experimental trauma study.
Study objective: The effect of adenosine on arachidonic acid metabolites and lipid peroxidation was investigated in induced spinal cord injury.
Summary of background data: Effects of adenosine in ischemia-reperfusion models have been studied, but no studies of adenosine's effect on direct trauma to the spinal cord have been reported.
Methods: Thirty-seven adult Wistar albino rats were randomly divided into four groups and underwent laminectomy. Group 1 underwent a sham operation. Group 2 received an intravenous adenosine infusion of 100 micrograms/kg per minute for 30 minutes. In Group 3, a standard spinal cord trauma of 50 g.cm strength was established at the lower thoracic level with a "weight-drop" technique, and Group 4 received an infusion of adenosine (100 micrograms/kg per minute) for 30 minutes after the trauma.
Results: Tissue prostaglandin E2 activity was significantly higher in adenosine-treated trauma groups when compared with that in other groups (P < 0.0001). The difference in tissue leukotriene C4 activity between control and trauma groups was significant (P < 0.05). Adenosine infusion after trauma limited the increases in lipid peroxidation, with the difference approaching significance at P = 0.06. The structure of myelin was well preserved in the adenosine-treated trauma group. However, the changes were irreversible in severely damaged areas.
Conclusion: After acute spinal cord trauma, intravenous adenosine infusion of 100 micrograms/kg per minute could attenuate progression to secondary injury, but adenosine alone was not effective yet.