Cerebrolysin recovers diaphragmatic function and reduces injury-associated astrogliosis following a cervical spinal cord hemi-section injury in rats

Background Spinal cord injury (SCI) is widely considered the most disastrous medical condition. With no available treatment to date, SCI continues to cause disabilities to the patients and affect their own and their caregivers' quality of life. Cerebrolysin (CBL) is a neuropeptide preparation derived from purified brain proteins with suggested neuroprotective and neurotrophic properties. CBL showed earlier the ability to target multiple pathways that helped in the improvement of the recovery following different groups of neurological diseases and injuries, including ischemic stroke, traumatic brain injuries, and even neurodegenerative diseases. In the current study, the neuroprotective effect of CBL following a SCI is called into question using a rat model of spinal cord cervical hemi-section validated earlier by our lab and others. Using 32 rats divided into four groups randomly, CBL treatment was implemented for either 7 or 21 days duration, following the cervical spinal cord hemi-section. Results Following the CBL treatment, rats with cervical cord hemi-section showed functional improvement of diaphragmatic muscle as recorded by electromyography (EMG). In addition, the histopathological assessment of the spinal cord showed improved neuronal viability and reduced astrogliosis at the site of the injury compared to the non-treated group. 21-day treatment showed significant improvement when compared to the shorter 7-day regimen. Conclusion Our data suggest that CBL is capable of protecting and regenerating anterior horn motor neurons with functional recovery of diaphragmatic muscle functions in rats, suggesting the potential use of CBL for future regenerative and neuroprotective therapy following SCI.