Elsevier

Neuroscience Letters

Volume 336, Issue 1, 9 January 2003, Pages 41-44
Neuroscience Letters

Magnesium attenuates persistent functional deficits following diffuse traumatic brain injury in rats

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-3940(02)01244-2Get rights and content

Abstract

Although a number of studies have demonstrated that magnesium improves acute motor and cognitive outcome after traumatic brain injury, others have failed to show positive effects on cognitive outcome and none have examined persistent functional deficits. The present study shows that severe impact-acceleration induced, diffuse traumatic brain injury in rats produced profound motor and cognitive deficits that persisted for at least 4 weeks after trauma. Intravenous administration of magnesium sulfate (250 μmoles/kg) at 30 min after injury significantly improved rotarod (sensorimotor) and open field (stress/anxiety) performance, and led to a faster rate of recovery in the Barnes maze (learning). We conclude that posttraumatic magnesium administration attenuates long-term motor and cognitive deficits after traumatic brain injury, and that this improvement may include some reduction of post-traumatic stress and anxiety.

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Acknowledgements

Supported, in part, by an Australian National Health and Medical Research Council Grant to R.V.

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