Changes of ROS Level in Different Types and Degrees of Spinal Cord Injury

Objective To observe the changes of malonyldialdehyed(MDA) and superoxide dissmutas(SOD) contents in spinal cord after two different types and degrees of spinal cord injury(SCI) and to study the reactive oxygen species variation in secondary pathological damage of the spinal cord.Methods Thirty Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into five groups: control group,50cmg and 25cmg contusion groups,hemi-section and transection injury groups.The SCI models in rats were made with modified Allen's method and intersection cutting.The amount of MDA and SOD of spinal cord tissue were determined in 6h after injury.Results The concentration of MDA significantly increased and the activity of SOD significantly descended in all the types of SCI in 6h(P0.05).No statistically significant difference was seen regarding MDA and SOD contents in the groups of the same type of SCI(P0.05) except the SOD in the hemi-section and transection injury groups(P0.05).Conclusions The reactive oxygen species(ROS) plays a crucial role in the secondary pathological damage of SCI.The level of ROS in the injured spinal cord tissue is not completely consistent with degree of injury.