Effects of beraprost sodium on canine cauda equina function and blood flow using a chronic spinal cord compression model.

Changes in blood flow after chronic compression were observed in 19 dogs after 10 mmHg compression for 1 week before and 1 hour after the intravenous administration of one of three doses of beraprost sodium (BPS; 30 ng x kg(-1) x min(-1), n = 7; 100 ng x kg(-1) x min(-1), n = 7; and 300 ng x kg(-1) x min(-1), n = 5). The speed of blood flow was calculated using a specially designed microscope equipped with a video camera. Dogs treated with BPS had lesser degrees of reduction in their nerve conduction velocity compared with controls. A vascular mechanism of injury likely explains why BPS-treated dogs had a lesser degree of reduction in their nerve conduction velocities compared with the control population.