Evaluation of neuroprotective efficacy of etomidate in experimental spinal cord injury

Objective: Purpose of this study was to evaluate the neuroprotective efficacy of pre- and post- traumatic Etomidate administration in histopathological and neurobehavioral recovery in a rat experimental spinal cord injury (SCI) model.Material and Method: Thirty Wistar Albino female rats having normal motor activities were allocated randomly into five groups to contain six rats in each. Rats were preoperatively anesthetized with 35 mg ketamine and 5 mg ksilozin. Model was constructed so that Group 1 had laminectomy and traumatized; Group 2 had laminectomy, administered with etomidate (2 mg/kg intraperitoneal) and then traumatized 5 minutes after induction; Group 3 had laminectomy, traumatized and induced with etomidate immediately after trauma, Group 4 had laminectomy, administered with 10% lipid emulsion (1ml intraperitoneal) and then traumatized 5 minutes after administration; Group 5 had laminectomy, traumatized and administered with 10% lipid emulsion immediately after trauma. For the purposes of creating a standard trauma, a Yasargil aneurysm clip (Aesculap FE 721 K) with a 63-gram closing force was applied for one minute around the dura and the spinal cord. In order to assess the functional recovery following the surgical procedure, neurobehavioral tests were carried out in all rats on days 1,3,5,7 and 10. At the end of the tenth day, all rats were killed and samples obtained from the traumatized area were sent for histopathological assessment.Results: Comparison among the results of neurobehavioral tests and histopathological assessments showed that Groups administered with Etomidate revealed significantly better recovery than other groups. While Group 2 showed significantly better neurobehavioral recovery than Group 3, no significant difference was noted between the two in terms of histopathological results.Conclusion: Treatment of spinal cord injury (SCI) with Etomidate improves histopathological and neurobehavioral recovery in experimentally traumatized rats.Keywords: Etomidate, neuroprotective effect, spinal trauma, spinal cord injury (SCI)