Hyperbaric oxygen therapy improves local microenvironment after spinal cord injury

作     者：Yang Wang Shuquan Zhang Min Luo Yajun Li 

作者机构：Department of Orthopedics China-Japan Union Hospital Jilin University Department of Orthopedics Nankai Hospital School of Mathematics Jilin University 

出 版 物：《Neural Regeneration Research》 (中国神经再生研究（英文版）)

年 卷 期：2014年第9卷第24期

页      面：2182-2188页

核心收录：

学科分类：1002[医学-临床医学] 100210[医学-外科学(含：普外、骨外、泌尿外、胸心外、神外、整形、烧伤、野战外)] 10[医学] 

基　　金：financially supported by grants from the Science and Technology Development Project of Jilin Province in China No.20110492 

主　　题：nerve regeneration spinal cord injury hyperbaric oxygen motor function rats microenvironment aquaporin 4 aquaporin 9 neural regeneration 

摘      要：Clinical studies have shown that hyperbaric oxygen therapy improves motor function in patients with spinal cord injury. In the present study, we explored the mechanisms associated with the recovery of neurological function after hyperbaric oxygen therapy in a rat model of spinal cord injury. We established an acute spinal cord injury model using a modification of the free-falling object method, and treated the animals with oxygen at 0.2 MPa for 45 minutes, 4 hours after injury. The treatment was administered four times per day, for 3 days. Compared with model rats that did not receive the treatment, rats exposed to hyperbaric oxygen had fewer apoptotic cells in spinal cord tissue, lower expression levels of aquaporin 4/9 mRNA and protein, and more NF-200 positive nerve fibers. Furthermore, they had smaller spinal cord cavities, rapid recovery of somatosensory and motor evoked potentials, and notably better recovery of hindlimb motor function than model rats. Our findings indicate that hyperbaric oxygen therapy reduces apoptosis, downregulates aquaporin 4/9 mRNA and protein expression in injured spinal cord tissue, improves the local microenvironment for nerve regeneration, and protects and repairs the spinal cord after injury.