Turkish Neurosurgery 2013 , Vol 23 , Num 5
Neuroprotective Effect of Magnesium Sulfate and Dexamethasone on Intrauterine Ischemia in the Fetal Rat Brain: Ultrastructural Evaluation
Askin Esen HASTURK1, Ferhat HARMAN2, Turkan ARCA3, Mustafa SARGON4, Kamer KILINC5, Erkan KAPTANOGLU2
1Oncology Training and Research Hospital, Department of Neurosurgery, Ankara, Turkey
2Near East University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery, Lefkosa, TRNC
3Near East University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Medical Biology, Lefkosa, TRNC
4Hacettepe University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Anatomy, Ankara, Turkey
5Hacettepe University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry, Ankara, Turkey
DOI : 10.5137/1019-5149.JTN.8541-13.1 AIM: The aim of this study was to investigate the neuroprotective effect of magnesium sulfate and dexamethasone on oxidative damage in intrauterine ischemia.

MATERIAL and METHODS: In this study, 19-day pregnant rats were divided into five groups. Fetal brain ischemia was achieved in the ischemia/ reperfusion (I/R) group by bilaterally closing the utero-ovarian artery with aneurysm clips for 30 min and subsequently removing the aneurysm clips for 60 min for reperfusion. Mg (600 mg/kg) and dexamethasone (0.25 mg/kg) were administered 20 min before the I/R insult. The lipid peroxidation in the brain tissue was determined by the concentration of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS). The mitochondrial score was calculated after an evaluation with electron microscopy.

RESULTS: Both the electron microscope and TBARS data showed a significant difference between the control and I/R groups. The Mg and dexamethasone treatment groups exhibited significantly lower TBARS values compared to the IR group. Similarly, the mitochondrial scores in the Mg and dexamethasone treatment groups were significantly lower than those in the I/R group.

CONCLUSION: Result showed that magnesium sulfate and dexamethasone prevent lipid peroxidation and reduce mitochondrial injury thus suggests neuroprotective effects in fetal rat brain in intrauterine ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. Keywords : Dexamethasone, Fetal brain, Injury, Intrauterine, Ischemia, Lipid peroxidation, Magnesium

Corresponding author : Erkan Kaptanoğlu, erkankaptanoglu@gmail.com