• Hayri Kertmen, Bora Gürer, Erdal Resit Yilmaz, Ata Turker Arikok, Mehmet Ali Kanat, Berrin Imge Erguder, and Zeki Sekerci.
• Neurosurgery. 2015 Aug 1;62 Suppl 1:216.

IntroductionDarbepoetin alpha is a hypersialylated analogue of erythropoietin effective on activating erythropoietin receptors. This study investigated the vasodilator and neuroprotective effects of darbepoetin alpha on experimental subarachnoid hemorrhage model and compared them with erythropoietin.MethodsForty adult male New Zealand white rabbits were randomly divided into 4 groups of 10 rabbits each: group 1 (control), group 2 (subarachnoid hemorrhage), group 3 (erythropoietin), group 4 (darbepoetin alpha). Recombinant human erythropoietin was administered at a dose of 1000 U/kg intraperitoneally after the induction of subarachnoid hemorrhage and continued every 8 hours up to 72 hours. Darbepoetin alpha was administered at a single intraperitoneal dose of 30 μg/kg. Animals were killed 72 hours after subarachnoid hemorrhage. Basilar artery crosssectional areas, arterial wall thicknesses, hippocampal degeneration scores, and biochemical analyses were measured in all groups.ResultsBoth erythropoietin and darbepoetin alpha treatments were found to attenuate cerebral vasospasm and provide neuroprotection after subarachnoid hemorrhage in rabbits (Figures 1-6). Darbepoetin alpha revealed better morphometric and histopathological results than erythropoietin among experimental subarachnoid hemorrhage-induced vasospasm.ConclusionOur findings, for the first time, showed that darbepoetin alpha can prevent vasospasm and provides neuroprotection following experimental subarachnoid hemorrhage. Moreover, darbepoetin alpha showed better results when compared with erythropoietin.

11 keywords...

hide…