Pre- and Post-traumatic Boric Acid Therapy Prevents Oxidative Stress-mediated Neuronal Apoptosis in Spinal Cord Injury

Overview

Journal Iran J Basic Med Sci

Publisher Mashhad University of Medical Sciences

Specialty General Medicine

Date 2025 Feb 19

PMID 39968086

Authors

Turan Kandemir

Ibrahim Sogut

Zeki Serdar Ataizi

Betul Can

Aysegul Oglakci-Ilhan

Dilek Burukoglu-Donmez

Gungor Kanbak

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Objectives: In our study, the neuroprotective efficacy of pre- and post-traumatic applications of boric acid (BA) in rats with experimentally induced spinal cord injury (SCI) was investigated.

Materials And Methods: The experimental animals were divided into four groups: control group (C), SCI group (SCI), BA-treated group before SCI (BA+SCI), and BA-treated group after SCI (SCI+BA). Forty-eight hours after SCI, biochemical levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), total oxidant status (TOS), total antioxidant status (TAS), oxidative stress index (OSI), and cytochrome c (Cytc) and caspase-3 (Casp3) expressions were measured in the spinal cord tissues and were examined histologically.

Results: After SCI, oxidative stress markers, such as MDA, TOS, and OSI, and apoptosis markers Cytc and Casp3 showed an increase in levels compared to Group C. The oxidative stress markers that increased after SCI decreased with BA+SCI application, while Cytc level, one of the apoptosis markers that increased after SCI, decreased in both groups with BA application. Cell, myelin, ependymal damage, and hemorrhage levels increased after SCI compared to Group C. These histological markers increased after SCI and decreased after BA+SCI. BA was found to reduce SCI-induced oxidative stress and oxidative stress-induced apoptosis.

Conclusion: BA administered before SCI was shown to be more effective in protecting neural damage.

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