ABSTRACT
The authors have demonstrated previously that pretreatment with deferoxamine, an iron
chelator and antioxidant, at the time of release in acute nerve compression, provided
protection against ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. In the present study, they evaluated
whether therapeutic intervention with hydroxyethyl-starch-bound deferoxamine (HES-DFO)
at the time of release of the chronically-compressed peripheral nerve protects the
nerve from I/R injury. The sciatic nerves of 43 male Sprague-Dawley rats, weighing
325 to 350 g, were subjected to 8 weeks of compression with Silastic tubing. The treatment
group received intravenous HES-DFO (70 mg/kg) at the time of decompression, while
the control group received an equal volume of intravenous hetastarch vehicle at the
same time schedule and route. Nerve-tissue samples from the compression site, as well
as contralateral noncompressed nerves, were assayed for malondialdehyde (MDA), a marker
of I/R injury. The control group exhibited MDA levels up to five times normal, and
did not return to normal for 21 days. In contrast, the HES-DFO group had MDA levels
that were not statistically significantly different from normal levels. The results
confirm that pretreatment with HES-DFO prior to the surgical decompression of chronically-compressed
nerve provides marked protection against I/R injury.
