Protective Effect Of Melatonin On Spinal Cord Injury In Rabbits With Seawater Immersion

Objective Establishment of seawater immersion spinal cord of rabbit,observe the protective effects of melatonin on seawater immersion spinal cord injury in rabbits.Method This experiment used 120 mature and health New Zealand White rabbits,male or femal,weight range from 2.6 to 2.9kg,they were randomly divided into four groups: control group(A),ethanol group(B),melatonin group(C,100mg/kg),methylprednisolone group(D,30mg/kg),each group of 30.The rabbit model of spinal cord injury were built by modified Allen`s methodas the center of the 10 th thoracic.All rabbits were seawater immersion 60 minutes after spinal cord injury,Six rabbits in each group were randomly selected at 1?6?12?24 and 48 hours five different time points.The neurological function scores of rabbits were evaluated by Tarlov method,the spinal cord of T9 to T10 which were obtained from all groups were used for further study,including immunohistochemical detection of apoptosis proteins:Bax?Bcl-2?NF200and Tunel method to detect spinal neuronal cell apoptosis.Result Within each observation time point,the Tarlov score was higher in melatonin group and methylprednisolone group compared with control group and ethanol group(P<0.05),no significant difference between melatoningroup and methylprednisolone group(P>0.05),the difference between control group and ethanol group was not statistically significant(P>0.05).The expression of Bcl-2 and NF200 were rising higher in melatonin group and methylprednisolone group compared with control group and ethanol group,in contrast Bax expression was reduced(P <0.05),no significant difference between melatonin group and methylprednisolone group(P>0.05),the difference between control group and ethanol group was not statistically significant(P>0.05).The Tunel positive apoptotic cells were lower in melatonin group and methylprednisolone group compared with control group and ethanol group(P<0.05),no significant difference between melatonin group and methylprednisolone grou(P>0.05),the difference between control group and ethanol group was not statistically significant(P>0.05).Conclusion Melatonin has protective effect on seawater immersion spinal cord injury in rabbits,noindifference compare with methylprednisolone.