Ultraviolet Blood Irradiation and Oxygenation Affects Free Radicals and Antioxidase after Rabbit Spinal Cord Injury.

OBJECTIVE:To investigate the effects of ultraviolet blood irradiation and oxygenation (UBIO) on free radicals and antioxidase after spinal cord injury in rabbits.METHODS:Totally, 186 rabbits were used and divided randomly into four experimental groups: control (n = 6), blood transfusion (n = 24), injured (n = 96) and treatment (n = 60) groups. The relative intensity of free radical (FR) signals, malondialdehyde (MDA) content, as well as the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) were compared among the four groups at 6, 24, 48, and 72 hours and 6 days after injury.RESULTS:The relative intensity of FR signals in spinal cord tissue in the injured group increased at 48 hours and showed a striking difference compared with the control group; in the treatment group, it decreased and showed a striking difference compared with the injured group. MDA content in blood in the injured group increased and showed a striking difference at 6, 24 and 48 hours and showed a significant difference at 72 hours and 6 days after injury compared with the control group. In the treatment group, MDA content in blood decreased and showed a significant difference at 48 hours compared with the injured group. MDA content in spinal cord tissue increased in the injured group and showed a striking difference compared with the control group; in the treatment group, it decreased and showed a striking difference compared with the injured group at the corresponding times. The activity of SOD in blood and spinal cord tissue decreased in the injured group and showed a striking difference compared with the control group; in the treatment group, it increased and showed a striking difference compared with the injured group at the corresponding times. The changes in activity of GSH-PX in blood and spinal cord tissue were similar to that in SOD. No significant difference was observed between the blood transfusion and control groups.CONCLUSION:UBIO can ease free radical damages and elevate the activity of antioxidases after spinal cord injury in rabbits.