Correlation of Oxidative and Antioxidative Processes in the Blood of Patients with Cervical Spinal Cord Injury

The effect of cervical spinal cord injury (CSCI) on oxidative stress parameters was assessed. The study was conducted in 42 patients with CSCI (studied group), 15 patients with cerebral concussion, without CSCI (Control II), and 30 healthy volunteers (Control I). Blood was taken from the basilic vein: before and seven days after the spinal cord decompression surgery (mean time from CSCI to surgery: 8 hours) in the studied group and once in the controls. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and conjugated dienes (CD) concentrations, and glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT), and creatine kinase (CK) activities before the surgery were higher in the studied group than in the controls. Reduced glutathione concentration was similar in all groups. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) in the studied group was 16% lower ( P ≤ 0.001 ) than in Control I. Lipid peroxidation products, and GPx and CAT activities in erythrocytes seven days after the surgery were lower ( P ≤ 0.001 ), while SOD was 25% higher ( P ≤ 0.001 ) than before the surgery. CK in blood plasma after the surgery was 34% lower ( P ≤ 0.001 ) than before it. CSCI is accompanied by oxidative stress. Surgical and pharmacological treatment helps to restore the oxidant-antioxidant balance.