Microglia inhibition is a target of mild hypothermic treatment after the spinal cord injury
T Morino, T Ogata, J Takeba and H Yamamoto
Spinal Cord, 2008
Rats were separated into normothermic and hypothermic groups after spinal cord injury. Motor function was evaluated by measuring the frequency of standing and microglia were observed in the compressed portion of the spinal cord. The amount of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in the compressed spinal cord was measured by the ELISA method. In normothermic rats, microglia rapidly increased up to 72 h was, while the increase of microglia was substantially inhibited at 48 and 72 h after compression in the hypothermic rats. The motor function of the hypothermic rats improved at 48 and 72 h after the compression, whereas no improvement was seen in the normothermic rats. The amount of TNF-alpha in the compressed portion of the spinal cord was lower in hypothermic rats compared with normothermic rats throughout the experiment.