Neuroprotective effects of erythropoietin on acute metabolic and pathological changes in experimentally induced neurotrauma

Object Head trauma is a dynamic process characterized by a cascade of metabolic and molecular events. Erythropoietin (EPO) has been shown to have neuroprotective effects in animal models of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Acute in vivo mechanisms and pathological changes associated with EPO following TBI are unknown. In this study the authors compare acute metabolic and pathological changes following TBI with and without systemically administered EPO. Methods Right frontal lobe microdialysis cannulae and right parietal lobe percussion hubs were inserted into 16 Sprague–Dawley rats. After a 4- to 5-day recovery, TBI was induced via a DragonFly fluid-percussion device at 2.5–2.8 atm. Rats were randomized into 2 groups, which received 5000 U/kg EPO or normal saline intraperitoneally 30 minutes after TBI. Microdialysis samples for glucose, lactate, pyruvate, and glutamate were obtained every 25 minutes for 10 hours. Rats were killed, their brains processed for light microscopy, and sections stained with H & E. ...