• S Shibuya, O Miyamoto, N A Janjua, T Itano, S Mori, and H Norimatsu.
• Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Kagawa Medical University, Miki-cho, Kagawa, Japan.
• Spinal Cord. 2004 Jan 1; 42 (1): 29-34.

Study DesignA standardized animal model of contusive spinal cord injury (SCI) with incomplete paraplegia was used to test the hypothesis that moderate systemic hypothermia reduces neural cell death. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase [TdT]-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate [dUTP] nick-end labeling (TUNEL) staining was used as a marker of apoptosis or cell damage.ObjectiveTo determine whether or not moderate hypothermia could have a neuroprotective effect in neural cell death following spinal cord injury in rats.SettingKagawa Medical University, Japan.MethodsMale Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats (n=39) weighing on average 300 g (280-320 g) were used to prepare SCI models. After receiving contusive injury at T11/12, rats were killed at 24 h, 72 h, or 7 days after injury. The spinal cord was removed en bloc and of examined at five segments: 5 and 10 mm rostral to the center of injury, center of injury, and 5 and 10 mm caudal to the center of injury. Rats that received hypothermia (32 degrees C/4 h) were killed at the same time points as those that received normothermia (37 degrees C/3 h). The specimens were stained with hematoxylin and eosin, and subjected to in situ nick-end labeling (TUNEL), a specific method for visualizing cell death in the spinal cord.ResultsAt 24 h postinjury, TUNEL positive cells (TPC) decreased significantly 10 mm rostral to center of injury in hypothermic animals compared to the normothermia group. At 72 h post-SCI, TPC also decreased significantly at 5 mm rostral, and 5 and 10 mm caudal to the lesion center compared to normothermic animals. At 7 days postinjury, a significant decrease of TPC was observed at the 5 mm rostral and 5 mm caudal sites compared to normothermic animals.ConclusionThese results indicate that systemic hypothermia has a neuroprotective effect following SCI by attenuating post-traumatic TPC.

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