ABSTRACT
Objective To study the effects of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) preconditioning (PC) on motor function and mitochondrial apoptosis after spinal cord injury (SCI) in rats.Methods Thirty-six healthy,male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 3 groups (each n =12):a control (CON) group,an SCI model group and an HBO-PC group.The SCI group and the HBO-PC group after 7 sessions of HBO-PC treatment were subjected to SCI modeling using Allen's method.The CON group was not given any special treatment.Two weeks after the modeling,Basso,Beattie,and Bresnahan BBB scale was used to rate the rats' locomotor function,and the T8 segment of the rats' spinal cords was removed.After extracting total RNA from the spinal cord tissue,real-time quantitative PCR was used to detect the mRNA expression levels ofcaspase-3,cytochrome C (CYC),Bak,Bax,Bcl-x and Bcl-2 in the spinal cord tissue.Results Two weeks after modeling,compared with the CON group,the average BBB locomotion score of the SCI model group had decreased.In contrast,caspase-3,CYC,Bak and Bax mRNA expressions had increased significantly.Compared with the CON group,the average BBB locomotion score of the HBO-PC group had decreased,caspase-3 expression had increased,and Bax mRNA expression had decreased,but the differences in the changes between the two groups were not statistically significant.Bak mRNA expression increased and CYC expression decreased,and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant.Compared with the SCI model group,the average BBB locomotion score of the HBO-PC group increased while caspase-3,CYC,Bak and Bax mRNA expressions decreased,but none of these differences between the two groups was statistically significant.Bak mRNA expression increased and CYC mRNA expression decreased,and those differences between the two groups were statistically significant.Bcl-x and Bcl-2 mRNA expression in the CON,HBO-PC and SCI model groups were significantly different.Conclusion HBO-PC can reduce the loss of motor function after SCI,at least in rats.The mechanism may be related to reducing neuron mitochondrial apoptosis.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The comparative study concerning the safety of umbilical cord and bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells transplantation for the treatment of nervous system lesions is insufficient. OBJECTIVE: To assess the safety of umbilical cord and bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells transplantation for treatment of nervous system lesions. METHODS: A total of 214 cases with neuropathy were randomly divided into A, B groups. Patients in the A group received umbilical cord derived stem cell transplantation, and those in the B group received bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells transplantation. Totally (5-12)×108 stem cells were transplanted into each patient. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The count of lymphocytes, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, IgA, and IgM were increased compared with those before treatment in both groups (P 0.05). Moreover, white blood cell count and red blood cell count in cerebrospinal fluid of all patients were significantly greater than the normal level. There were no significant differences between two groups (P > 0.05). No significant differences of the positive rate of Pandy test and the incidence rate of adverse effect were found in both groups (P > 0.05). The safety of umbilical cord and bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell transplantation for treatment of nervous system lesions showed no marked differences.
ABSTRACT
Objective To compare the therapeutic effects of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy at different time points on patients with spinal cord injury. Methods A total of 284 cases of spinal cord injury (SCI) were divided into an HBO group and a control group. The control group was treated with routine interventions (including a dehydrator, medication for neurotrophy, rehabilitation management, acupuncture and supportive treatment). The HBO group was treated with HBO in addition to the routine treatments, initiated at different time points after onset of SCI ( from less than 8 hours to longer than 1 week). All of the patients were evaluated in terms of scores on the American Spinal Cord Injury Association (ASIA) assessment and Barthel's index (BI) before and after treatment.Results Both groups had excellent effects when the treatment was initiated within the first 8 hours after the onset of SCI. There was no significant difference between the two groups. Average ASIA and BI scores in both groups improved significantly within the first 24 hours, and over the 1 st week after the onset of SCI. The recovery of neurological function and ability in the activities of daily living (ADL) was significantly better when HBO treatment was initiated within 8 hours after SCI compared with that initiated after 24 hour and 1 week. The therapeutic effects in the HBO group patients were significantly better than in the control group when HBO was initiated at 8 and 24 hours after onset of SCI. Neither the HBO group nor the control group had significant further improvement in ASIA scores or ADL performance when treatments initiated after 1 week. Conclusions HBO can significantly improve neurological function and ADL performance after SCI if it is administered within 1-8 hours.