JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL RESEARCH, cilt.33, sa.1, ss.90-95, 2005 (SCI-Expanded)
We investigated the therapeutic effect of
vitamin D3 in a rat diffuse axonal injury
model. A total of 60 male Sprague–Dawley
rats weighing 175 – 200 g were
anaesthetized and subjected to head
trauma using Marmarou’s impactacceleration
model. The rats were then
separated into two groups; one group was
treated with vitamin D3 and the other
with saline for up to 4 days after the head
trauma. Rats from both groups were killed
1, 3 or 8 days post-injury. The brains were
examined histopathologically and scored
according to the level of neuronal, vascular
and axonal damage. There were no
significant differences between the groups
after 1 or 3 days, but evaluation after 8 days
revealed a significant improvement in the
group treated with vitamin D3. Our data
indicate that vitamin D3 has a beneficial
effect in diffuse axonal injury and may be
useful in the management of this condition.