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Published on: November 26, 2015
Prednisolone prevents transient ischemia-induced cochlear damage in gerbils
Toshiki Maetani1, Jun Hyodo, Shoichiro Takeda
1Department of Otolaryngology, Ehime University School of Medicine, Ehime, Japan. t-maetani@kitano-hp.or.jp
Conclusions:
Prednisolone protects against inner ear damage, even when administered after ischemic injury in Mongolian gerbils.
Objective:
The effect of prednisolone on ischemia-induced cochlear damage was investigated in Mongolian gerbils.
Materials And Methods:
The bilateral vertebral arteries were occluded for 15 min to transiently induce cochlear ischemia, followed by an intraperitoneal injection of prednisolone (1 mg/kg) or physiological saline (control). Sequential changes in hearing were evaluated by recording the auditory brainstem response (ABR) before and at 1, 4, and 7 days after treatment. In our histologic analysis, the numbers of dead and intact inner hair cells (IHCs) were counted in specimens stained with rhodamine-phalloidin.
Results:
In control animals, transient ischemia increased the ABR threshold (24.2 +/- 8.6 dB) within 7 days of treatment, whereas prednisolone-treated animals exhibited a threshold of 14.2 +/- 9.2 dB. Furthermore, the percent IHC loss at the basal turn of the cochlea was 26.5 +/- 11.4% in control animals compared with 5.3 +/- 3.0% in the prednisolone-treated group.
