Ceftriaxone Improves Neuron Protection and Functional Recovery in Rat Model of Spinal Cord Injury

Aims: To determine the efficacy of ceftriaxone in improvement of neuron protection and functional recovery of spinal cord injury (SCI) in rat model.
Study Design: This study was designed to evaluate the effect of ceftriaxone on neuron protection in rat model of SCI. Rats were randomly divided into four different experimental groups.
Place and Duration of Study: Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran, between December 2011 through December 2013.
Methodology: Rats (age, 10 weeks; weight, 165–245 ± 5 g) were randomly divided into four groups of ten (n=40): ceftriaxone before SCI, normal saline before SCI, ceftriaxone after SCI, and normal saline after SCI. SCI was performed on animals under general anesthesia using the weight dropping method. Ceftriaxone was injected intraperitoneally in rats at a dose rate of 200 mg/kg/day for seven days, before and after SCI. Hind limb motor function was assessed using the Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan (BBB) scale. CST axons were traced by injection of biotin dextran amine (BDA), into the sensorimotor cortex.
Result: Our findings showed that ceftriaxone improved functional recovery of SCI in the animal model. Based on the obtained results, there was a statistically significant difference in BBB scores, between groups that received ceftriaxone before and after SCI and control groups. At the same time, significant differences were also observed in axon counting of above mentioned groups.
Conclusion: With attention to increasing demand for innovation of efficient and at the same time cost benefit procedures to improve spinal cord injury, present study seems to be able to open a new way to achieve this goal. No doubt it is still on its experimental model and need further work to validate reliability.