Prolonged focal application of polyethylene glycol induces conduction block in guinea pig spinal cord white matter.

A 2-min focal application of Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) to injured mammalian spinal cords can offer significant yet limited restoration of functional and structural integrity. However, longer application of PEG has not been tested in similar injuries. In this study, isolated spinal cord white matter strips from adult guinea pigs were subjected to a 25 min exposure of PEG (MW: 2000; 50% w/w), with or without prior compression. When applied in a continuous steam, PEG, with a delay of about 6 min, suppressed the compound action potential (CAP) amplitude to 64+/-4% of the pre-PEG level in uninjured cords and to 64+/-7% in compressed cord strips. Both recovered to 70+/-5% (uninjured) and 88+/-11% (compressed) of the pre-PEG level following wash. When PEG was applied in a pulsatile manner, no significant decrease of CAP amplitude was observed. In summary, our results show that focal continuous application of PEG has minimal toxicity if applied for less than 5 min. Pulsatile application could extend this duration to at least 25 min with no toxicity. This study could be useful in determining the optimal protocol for the use of PEG in both animal research and human spinal cord victims.