Erythropoietin enhances neurological recovery after experimental spinal cord injury.

Purpose: Erythropoietin is a hematopoietic growth factor. It is also involved in neurodevelopment and neuroprotection. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of erythropoietin in enhancing the neurological recovery following experimental spinal cord injury.

Methods: Rats were randomly divided into 4 groups. Group 1 received only laminectomy. Group 2, 3, and 4 have undergone a spinal contusion injury of 50 gr/cm. Group 2 received no medication. Group 3 received 30 mg/kg methylprednisolone. Group 4 received 5000 IU/kg recombinant human erythropoietin. Following injury, neurological recovery was evaluated for 14 days, using a swimming test.

Results: At day 1, there was no difference between mean motor scores of group 2, 3, and 4. Following day 1, rats in group 4 exhibited a marked improvement in motor score, and this was maintained throughout the study. When compared to group 2, mean motor score of group 4 was significantly higher at day 4, 7, 10, and 14. When compared to group 3, mean motor score of group 4 was significantly higher at day 7, 10, and 14.

Conclusion: These findings suggest that erythropoietin enhances neurological recovery following spinal cord injury and it seems to be more effective than methylprednisolone at the given doses.