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Magnesium efficacy in a rat spinal cord injury model.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Wiseman, DB; Dailey, AT; Lundin, D; Zhou, J; Lipson, A; Falicov, A; Shaffrey, CI
Published in: J Neurosurg Spine
April 2009

OBJECT: Magnesium has been shown to have neuroprotective properties in short-term spinal cord injury (SCI) studies. The authors evaluated the efficacy of magnesium, methylprednisolone, and magnesium plus methylprednisolone in a rat SCI model. METHODS: A moderate-to-severe SCI was produced at T9-10 in rats, which then received saline, magnesium, methylprednisolone, or magnesium plus methylprednisolone within 10 minutes of injury. The Basso-Beattie-Bresnahan (BBB) motor score was evaluated weekly, beginning on postinjury Day 1. After 4 weeks, the rats' spinal cords were evaluated histologically to determine myelin index and gross white matter sparing. A second experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of delayed administration (8, 12, or 24 hours postinjury) of magnesium on recovery. RESULTS: The mean BBB scores at 4 weeks showed that rats in which magnesium was administered (BBB Score 6.9 +/- 3.9) recovered better than controls (4.2 +/- 2.0, p < 0.01). Insufficient numbers of animals receiving methylprednisolone were available for analysis because of severe weight loss. The rats given magnesium within 8 hours of injury had better motor recovery at 4 weeks than control animals (13.8 +/- 3.7 vs 8.6 +/- 5.1, p < 0.01) or animals in which magnesium was administered at 12 or 24 hours after injury (p < 0.01). Steroids (30.2%), magnesium (32.3%), and a combination of these (42.3%) had a significant effect on white matter sparing (p < 0.05), but the effect was not synergistic (p > 0.8). Neither steroids nor magnesium had a significant effect on the myelin index (p > 0.1). CONCLUSIONS: The rats receiving magnesium had significantly better BBB motor scores and white matter sparing 4 weeks after moderate-to-severe SCI than control animals. In addition, the groups given steroids only or magnesium and steroids had improved white matter sparing, although the limited numbers of animals reaching the study end point makes it difficult to draw firm conclusions about the utility of steroids in this model. The optimal timing of magnesium administration appears to be within 8 hours of injury.

Duke Scholars

Published In

J Neurosurg Spine

DOI

ISSN

1547-5654

Publication Date

April 2009

Volume

10

Issue

4

Start / End Page

308 / 314

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Weight Loss
  • Spinal Cord Injuries
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • Rats, Sprague-Dawley
  • Rats
  • Orthopedics
  • Neuroprotective Agents
  • Myelin Sheath
  • Methylprednisolone
  • Magnesium
 

Citation

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Wiseman, D. B., Dailey, A. T., Lundin, D., Zhou, J., Lipson, A., Falicov, A., & Shaffrey, C. I. (2009). Magnesium efficacy in a rat spinal cord injury model. J Neurosurg Spine, 10(4), 308–314. https://doi.org/10.3171/spi.2009.10.4.308
Wiseman, Diana Barrett, Andrew T. Dailey, David Lundin, Jiegang Zhou, Adam Lipson, Alexis Falicov, and Christopher I. Shaffrey. “Magnesium efficacy in a rat spinal cord injury model.J Neurosurg Spine 10, no. 4 (April 2009): 308–14. https://doi.org/10.3171/spi.2009.10.4.308.
Wiseman DB, Dailey AT, Lundin D, Zhou J, Lipson A, Falicov A, et al. Magnesium efficacy in a rat spinal cord injury model. J Neurosurg Spine. 2009 Apr;10(4):308–14.
Wiseman, Diana Barrett, et al. “Magnesium efficacy in a rat spinal cord injury model.J Neurosurg Spine, vol. 10, no. 4, Apr. 2009, pp. 308–14. Pubmed, doi:10.3171/spi.2009.10.4.308.
Wiseman DB, Dailey AT, Lundin D, Zhou J, Lipson A, Falicov A, Shaffrey CI. Magnesium efficacy in a rat spinal cord injury model. J Neurosurg Spine. 2009 Apr;10(4):308–314.

Published In

J Neurosurg Spine

DOI

ISSN

1547-5654

Publication Date

April 2009

Volume

10

Issue

4

Start / End Page

308 / 314

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Weight Loss
  • Spinal Cord Injuries
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • Rats, Sprague-Dawley
  • Rats
  • Orthopedics
  • Neuroprotective Agents
  • Myelin Sheath
  • Methylprednisolone
  • Magnesium