Article

Experimental, controlled, animal study.Objectives:To use
non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to corroborate invasive studies
showing progressive expansion of a hemorrhagic lesion during the early hours
after spinal cord trauma and to assess the effect of glibenclamide, which blocks
Sur1-Trpm4 channels implicated in post-traumatic capillary fragmentation, on
lesion expansion.Setting:Baltimore.Methods:Adult female Long-Evans rats underwent
unilateral impact trauma to the spinal cord at C7, which produced ipsilateral but
not contralateral primary hemorrhage. In series 1 (six control rats and six
administered glibenclamide), hemorrhagic lesion expansion was characterized using
MRI at 1 and 24 h after trauma. In series 2, hemorrhagic lesion size was
characterized on coronal tissue sections at 15 min (eight rats) and at 24 h after
trauma (eight control rats and eight administered glibenclamide).Results:MRI (T2
hypodensity) showed that lesions expanded 2.3+/-0.33-fold (P<0.001) during the
first 24 h in control rats, but only 1.2+/-0.07-fold (P>0.05) in
glibenclamide-treated rats. Measuring the areas of hemorrhagic contusion on
tissue sections at the epicenter showed that lesions expanded 2.2+/-0.12-fold
(P<0.001) during the first 24 h in control rats, but only 1.1+/-0.05-fold
(P>0.05) in glibenclamide-treated rats. Glibenclamide treatment was associated
with significantly better neurological function (unilateral BBB scores) at 24 h
in both the ipsilateral (median scores, 9 vs 0; P<0.001) and contralateral
(median scores, 12 vs 2; P<0.001) hindlimbs.Conclusion:MRI is an accurate
non-invasive imaging biomarker of lesion expansion and is a sensitive measure of
the ability of glibenclamide to reduce lesion expansion.

Langue : ANGLAIS