Opioid receptors influence spinal cord electrical activity and edema formation following spinal cord injury: experimental observations using naloxone in the rat

The possibility that opioid peptides participate in alteration of spinal cord conduction following trauma to the cord was investigated in a rat model using a pharmacological approach. Spinal cord injury was produced in urethane anesthetized animals by a longitudinal incision into the right dorsal horn of T10–11 segments (2 mm deep and 5 mm long). Spinal cord evoked potentials (SCEP) were recorded epidurally from the T9 (rostral) and T12 (caudal) segments after stimulation of the ipsilateral tibial and sural nerves at the ankle. SCEP from both rostral and caudal segments consisted of a small positive peak followed by a high negative peak. Infliction of trauma in untreated rats resulted in an immediate depression of the rostral maximal negative peak (MNP) amplitude. This depression was long-lasting. Later, a significant increase in the latency of the rostral MNP amplitude occurred. Naloxone was administered in a high dosage (10 mg/kg, i.p.) to block μ-, δ- and κ-opioid receptors 30 min before injury. This drug treatment inhibited the immediate post-injury decrease of the rostral MNP amplitude without any significant effect on latency changes. Measurement of water content in the traumatized spinal cord segment showed a significant reduction in the drug treated animals 5 h after trauma (71.46 ± 0.54) as compared with untreated controls (74.65 ± 0.76). However, 1 mg or 5 mg/kg dosages of the drug were not effective in reducing the SCEP changes or edema after injury. These results strongly suggest that blockade of κ-opioid receptors with high doses of naloxone is important in reduction of trauma induced alteration of SCEP and edema formation in spinal cord injury.