Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Turkiye Klinikleri Cardiovascular Sciences, cilt.23, sa.3, ss.242-249, 2011 (Scopus)
Objective: Levetiracetam is a novel antiepileptic drup developed for treating epilepsia. In animal models levetiracetam has been reported to be beneficial for neuroprotection. In this study, we determined whether levetiracetam would protect spinal cord against ischemia/reperfusion injury in a rabbit model. Material and Methods: Twenty-five rabbits were randomized into five groups of five animals each; Group 1 (sham operation), Group 2 (ischemia only), Group 3 (Vehicle), Group 4 (30 mg/kg methylprednisolone), Group 5 (50 mg/kg levetiracetam). Only laparotomy was performed in sham group. In all other groups, the spinal cord ischemia model was created by a 20-min occlusion of the aorta just caudal to renal artery with an aneurysm clip. The animals were killed 48 hours later. Spinal cord segments between L2 and L5 were harvested for analysis. Neurological evaluation was performed with Tarlov scoring system just before animals were killed. Level of tissue malondialdehyde was analyzed as a marker of lipid peroxidation and tissue caspase-3 activity as a marker of apoptosis. Also, histopathological evaluation of the tissue was performed. Results: Methylprednisolone group had higher Tarlov scores compared with ischemia and vehicle groups. There were no statistically significant high Tarlov scores for levetiracetam group compared with ischemia and vehicle groups. Both malondialdehyde and caspase-3 levels were not significantly decreased by levetiracetam administration. Histopathological evaluation of the tissues also demonstrated no significant decrease in neuronal degeneration and infiltration parameters after levetiracetam administration. Conclusion: Although further studies considering different dose regimens and time intervals are required, levetiracetam was shown not to be as effective as methylprednisolone in spinal cord ischemia/reperfusion model. Copyright © 2011 by Türkiye Klinikleri.