Ischemic reperfusion injury in rabbit spinal cord: protective effect of superoxide dismutase on neurological recovery and spinal infarction.

The potential role of superoxide dismutase (SOD), a specific superoxide anion radical scavenger, in treating spinal cord ischemia was investigated in rabbits subjected to aortic occlusion for 20 min. SOD treatment, targeted to the early reperfusion period, reduced both motor dysfunction and incidence of spinal infarcts at 7 days after ischemia. Present results suggest that oxygen-derived free radicals play a role in the pathogenesis of infarcts developing in the spinal cord after ischemia and reperfusion injuries.