OBJECTIVE: Lipoic acid (LA) is an effective anti-oxidant agent that can scavenge free radicals in biological systems. The aim of this research was to study the probable protective effect of LA in spinal ischemic/reperfusion (I/R) injury. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty male Wistar rats, weighing 230-285 g, were assigned randomly into 3 groups (10 animals in each group): sham spinal I/R, and spinal I/R + LA. The spinal I/R + LA rats received LA 100 mg/kg subcutaneously 3 days prior to ischemia induction and 3 days after. The induction of ischemia lasted for 30 min. RESULTS: At 72 h postoperatively, the neurological status was worse in the I/R group than the sham group (p < 0.05). The neurological status of animals in the LA-treated group appeared better than the I/R group (p < 0.05). In the I/R group, tissue glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and super oxide dismutase (SOD) activity were significantly less compared to the control group (p < 0.05). In the LA-treated group, tissue GPx and SOD levels were higher compared to the I/R group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: LA pretreatment reduced neurologic injury in the rats, most probably by maintaining the oxidant/anti-oxidant ion balance during spinal cord ischemia. Reperfusion may have contributed to the protective effects seen in the LA pretreatment.
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Shaafi et al. (2010) studied this question.
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