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Decreased GFAP Expression and Improved Functional Recovery in Contused Spinal Cord of Rats Following Valproic Acid Therapy

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Abstract

Many studies have illustrated that much of the post-traumatic degeneration of the spinal cord cells is caused by the secondary mechanism. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of the anti-inflammatory property of valproic acid (VPA) on injured spinal cords (SC). The rats with the contused SC received intraperitoneal single injection of VPA (150, 200, 300, 400 or 500 mg/kg) at 2, 6, 12 and 24 h post-injury. Basso–Beattie–Bresnahan (BBB) test and H-reflex evaluated the functional outcome for 12 weeks. The SC were investigated 3 months post-injury using morphometry and glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP) expression. Reduction in cavitation, H/M ratio, BBB scores and GFAP expression in the treatment groups were significantly more than that of the untreated one (P < 0.05). The optimal improvement in the condition of the contused rats was in the ones treated at the acute phase of injury with 300 mg/kg of VPA at 12 h post-injury, they had the highest increase in BBB score and decrease in astrogliosis and axonal loss. We conclude that treating the contused rats with 300 mg/kg of VPA at 12 h post-injury improves the functional outcome and reduces the traumatized SC gliosis.

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Acknowledgments

The project was funded by Shefa Neurosciences Research Center at Khatam Al-Anbia Hospital, Tehran, Iran (Grant # 86-N-105). We are also grateful for the support of the Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran. We would like express our deep gratitude for Mrs. HH AliAkbar for editing the manuscript.

Conflict of interest

None.

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  1. Department of Anatomical Sciences, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

    Marzieh Darvishi

  2. Shefa Neurosciences Research Center, Khatam Al-Anbia Hospital, Tehran, Iran

    Taki Tiraihi & Taher Taheri

  3. Department of Anatomical Sciences, Faculty of Medical Sciences, School of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, P.O. Box 14155-4838, Tehran, Iran

    Taki Tiraihi

  4. Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

    Seyed A. Mesbah-Namin

  5. Department of Anatomy, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran

    AliReza Delshad

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  1. Marzieh Darvishi
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  2. Taki Tiraihi
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  3. Seyed A. Mesbah-Namin
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  4. AliReza Delshad
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  5. Taher Taheri
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Correspondence to Taki Tiraihi.

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Darvishi, M., Tiraihi, T., Mesbah-Namin, S.A. et al. Decreased GFAP Expression and Improved Functional Recovery in Contused Spinal Cord of Rats Following Valproic Acid Therapy. Neurochem Res 39, 2319–2333 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-014-1429-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-014-1429-5

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