Glutathione effect on functional and histological recovery after spinal cord injury in rats

ABSTRACT

Abstract Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the GSH effect on functional and histological recovery after experimental spinal cord injury in rats. Methods Forty Wistar rats were subjected to spinal cord injury through the Multicenter Animal Spinal Cord Injury Study (MASCIS) Impactor system. The rats were sorted and divided into four groups, as follows Group 1 ‒ Laminectomy and spinal cord injury; Group 2 ‒ Laminectomy, spinal cord injury and Saline Solution (SS) 0.9%; Group 3 ‒ Laminectomy, spinal cord injury, and GSH; and Group 4 ‒ lLaminectomy without spinal cord injury. GSH and SS were administered intraperitoneally. Groups 1 and 4 received no intervention. Results The rats were evaluated for locomotor function recovery at seven different times by the Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan (BBB) scale on days 2, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, and 42 after the spinal cord injury. On day 42, the rats were sacrificed to analyze the histological findings of the injured spinal cord. In the group submitted to GSH, our experimental study revealed better functional scores on the BBB scale, horizontal ladder scale, and cranial and caudal axon count. The differences found were statistically significant in BBB scores and axonal count analysis. Conclusion This study demonstrated that using glutathione in experimental spinal trauma can lead to better functional recovery and improved axonal regeneration rate in Wistar rats submitted to experimental spinal cord injury.