Effects of tadalafil—Type-V phosphodiesterase enzyme inhibitor—On rats with spinal trauma

Abstract

In this research, the effect of tadalafil, a selective inhibitor of cyclic guanosine monophosphate-specific phosphodiesterase type 5, on rats with spinal trauma was evaluated. The evaluation consisted of neurological examination and biochemical parameters. Twenty healthy male Wistar albino rats were used in this study. They were separated into three groups: tadalafil-receiving (TD) group (n=7), laminectomy and trauma (LT) group (n=7), and just laminectomy group (n=6). The TD group received daily dose of tadalafil (10 mg/kg) for a week along with bait and water. Each rat's spinal cord was dissected with utter caution. The spinal cord was traumatized by Allen's weight-drop method. Using a standard apparatus, 5 g of weight was dropped from a height of 10 cm on the spinal cords of the TD and LT (laminectomy+trauma) group. No extra maneuvers were conducted on the laminectomy group. A day later, the rat's functional neurological status was examined followed by re-exploration of the spinal cord for sampling 1 cm of tissue. The Tarlov scale was used to evaluate the functional neurological status. The modified Tarlov scale was rated to be significantly higher in the TD group than that in the LT group. For the biochemical parameters, malondialdehyde (MDA) and cytokines such as interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) involved in the inflammatory process were examined. MDA--an indicator of lipid peroxidation--was found to be significantly lower in the TD group compared with that in the LT group. TNF-α and IL-6 levels were also found to be lower in the TD group compared with those in the LT group. Shortly, this research showed that the use of TD group in spinal trauma resulted in better neurological outcome and significant improvement in biochemical parameters.

Efficiency of an eastern traditional medicine- asiatic acid on traumatic spinal cord injury: an experimental study

“…Finally, our results clearly showed that trauma increased the levels of MDA, TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 in the spinal cord of rats at 24 hours after injury and these results are similar to those in the literature (3,5,14,16,17). AA administration just after the trauma inhibited post-traumatic inflammation and overproduction of ROS and reduced MDA and pro-inflammatory cytokine (TNF-α, IL-1β) levels.…”

“…If the redox balance between reactive oxygen species and cellular free radical scavengers is disturbed, there will be an energy failure in the cell that causes apoptosis and cell death in neurological disorders such as stroke, Parkinson disease, Alzheimer disease and neurotrauma. Our results showed that spinal cord trauma caused a significant increase in the MDA level during the secondary injury with respect to the only laminectomy group as documented in the literature (3,15,16). AA administration just after the SCI reduced the MDA level compared with the laminectomy trauma group.…”

Phosphodiesterase 5 Inhibitor Use in Patients Undergoing Decompression Surgery for Lumbar Spinal Stenosis

“…One found that tadalafil significantly improved upper and lower limb locomotion and reduced inflammatory biomarkers, such as interleukin 6, tumor necrosis factor α, and malondialdehyde after spinal cord contusion when compared with the control group. 17 Secondary injury processes can be mediated by lipid peroxidation by free radicals, accumulation of intracellular Ca 2+ , and inflammation. It is possible that tadalafil can address all three by reducing malondialdehyde (by-product of lipid peroxidation) and decreasing Ca 2+ influx through cyclic guanosine monophosphate, which can also attenuate the inflammatory process.…”

Comparative biochemical and motor function analysis of alpha lipoic acid and n-acetyl cysteine treatment on rats with experimental spinal cord injury

“…The thorax was dissected and the left ventricle was cannulated to perform intracardiac perfusion with 100-300 ml phosphate buffered saline (pH 7.4) and 100 ml paraformaldehyde (4% in 0.1 mol phosphate buffered saline) (19). All hemorrhagic components of the spinal cord tissue were removed with NaCl 0.9% solution.…”