Neuroprotective effects of astaxanthin in a rat model of spinal cord injury

•Effects of Astaxanthin, a natural carotenoid, were tested in rat SCI.•Astaxanthin alleviated contusion SCI by decreasing apoptosis.•Astaxanthin decreased myelin loss and preserved neurons after SCI.•Astaxanthin improved motor behavioral recovery after SCI. Spinal cord injury (SCI) often leads to co...

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Veröffentlicht in:Behavioural brain research 2017-06, Vol.329, p.104-110
Hauptverfasser: Masoudi, Alireza, Dargahi, Leila, Abbaszadeh, Fatemeh, Pourgholami, Mohammad Hosein, Asgari, Alireza, Manoochehri, Mehdi, Jorjani, Masoumeh
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Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:•Effects of Astaxanthin, a natural carotenoid, were tested in rat SCI.•Astaxanthin alleviated contusion SCI by decreasing apoptosis.•Astaxanthin decreased myelin loss and preserved neurons after SCI.•Astaxanthin improved motor behavioral recovery after SCI. Spinal cord injury (SCI) often leads to constant neurological deficits and long-term unalterable disability. Apoptosis plays an important role in the initiation of the secondary injury cascades leading to progressive tissue damage and severely functional deficits after SCI. Although the primary mechanical destructive events cannot be reversed, a therapeutic intervention could be carried out in order to moderate the secondary injury damage several hours to weeks after injury. Astaxanthin (AST) is a strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents with the potential to render anti-apoptotic and neuroprotective effects. In the current study, we examined the therapeutic potential of AST on adult rats after severe SCI contusion. Results of BBB scores showed that AST improved motor function after SCI compared to control groups. Western blot analysis showed reduced expression of Bax and Cleaved-caspase-3 proteins and increased expression of the Bcl-2 protein in response to AST treatment (p
ISSN:0166-4328
1872-7549
DOI:10.1016/j.bbr.2017.04.026