Spinal Cord Injury Improves with Caspase-3 Inhibition

MONDAY, Oct. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Caspase-3 inhibition provides functional and cellular neuroprotection following spinal cord injury in an animal model and may provide benefit to human patients with spinal cord injury, according to the results of a study published in the October issue of Spine.

Bruce A. Citron, Ph.D., of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Kansas City, Mo., and colleagues examined whether a cell-penetrant form of caspase-3 tetrapeptide pseudosubstrate (DEVD-fmk) administered intraperitoneally one hour after inducing laminectomy and moderate spinal cord injury in rats improved functional (locomotor rating scale) and cellular outcomes (histologic tissue volume).

The researchers report that locomotor rating scale scores significantly improved (9.8 versus 6.6) over a 14-day treatment course in DEVD-fmk-treated rats compared to control rats. Similarly, histologic analysis revealed 50 percent less spinal cord tissue damage in DEVD-fmk treated rats compared to controls.

"In this study, we now report clear evidence that DEVD-fmk, the potent caspase-3 inhibitor, significantly improved functional restoration after injury and also reduced tissue injury volume," the authors conclude. "These results may have significant implications for emergency management of human spinal cord injury victims."

Abstract
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