[The physiopathology of acute spinal cord injury and a hope for a successful treatment].

The acute phase of spinal cord injury includes primary and secondary pathological patterns. Primary patterns include the effects of contusion, laceration, stretch of neural tissue and direct vascular trauma. These changes are irreversible. Secondary patterns include posttraumatic ischemic changes, loss of energy metabolism, oedema, release of cytotoxic substances such as free radicals, and electrolyte changes such as an increase in intracellular calcium ions. These changes may be reversible. This determines treatment strategies. Free-radical scavengers, opioid receptor antagonists include TRH and its analogues, calcium channel blockers, volume expander, osmotic diuretics, hypothermia, antioxidants, cycloxygenase inhibitors, serotonin antagonists and NMDA receptor antagonists were tested in experimental models during the last 4 years. The successful treatment should break the feedback loops and trails of secondary injury cascade in many places so combined treatment connected with many elements and surgery decompression is necessary.