The Effects of Moderate Hypothermia and Intrathecal Tetracaine on Glutamate Concentrations of Intrathecal Dialysate and Neurologic and Histopathologic Outcome in Transient Spinal Cord Ischemia in Rabbits

Abstract

Sodium channel blockers, including local anesthetics, have been shown to reduce glutamate release in brain ischemia and have a neuroprotective effect. However, in the present study, intrathecal tetracaine did not attenuate either glutamate release or the neurologic or histopathologic outcome in spinal cord ischemia, whereas moderate hypothermia did.