Does prostaglandin E1 and superoxide dismutase prevent ischaemic spinal cord injury after thoracic aortic cross-clamping?

The beneficial use of prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) on the tolerance to ischaemia of the spinal cord was evaluated following thoracic aortic cross-clamping in dogs. Aside from spinally evoked somatosensory potential (SEP) by means of a bipolar epidural catheter, postoperative evaluation of motor deficits was used to determine the efficiency of pharmacological protection when compared with controls. The animals were divided into four groups. Group I (n = 12) served as controls. The dogs of Group II (n = 12) were treated with PGE1 (100 ng/kg/min) during clamping and the first hour after declamping. In the third group (n = 12) SOD was given as an intra-arterial bolus (1 mg/kg) prior to declamping which was followed by a continuous perfusion (0.4 mg/kg/min) into the carotid artery for 25 min. In Group IV (n = 12) the dogs were treated with a combination of PGE1 and SOD in the same manner as in Groups 3 and 4. Results after pharmacological protection were significantly better than controls. In Group I all animals but one (92%) were paraplegic, as were five in Group II (42%) and eight in Group III (67%). In contrast no dog in Group IV developed paraplegia. There was a close correlation of SEP and postoperative recovery. The group with combination therapy (PGE1 plus SOD) was characterised by a loss of the evoked potential for a mean of 15 min, the PGE1 group for 45.8 min and the SOD group for 58.5 min. While the control group was characterised by a loss of 72.7 min.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)