Affiliations: Department of Emergency Medicine, Emory University
School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
Note: [] Corresponding author: Brain Research Laboratory, Suite 5100,
1365B Clifton Road NE, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. Tel.: +1 404
712 2540; Fax: +1 404 727 2388 E-mail: dstei04@emory.edu
Abstract: Twenty-month-old male Fischer 344 rats with bilateral contusions of
the frontal cortex (n=8/group) or sham operations received
16 mg/kg of progesterone or vehicle at 1 and 6 h post-injury, then once every
24 h for the next seven days, with tapering of the dose over the final two
treatments. The rats' behavioral recovery was then evaluated on tests of
locomotor activity and Morris water maze learning. All rats were sacrificed
21 days post-TBI and brains were perfused and cryoprotected for necrotic cavity
measurements. The injury produced significant impairments in activity and
spatial learning compared to sham controls. The progesterone-treated rats had
better functional outcomes than vehicle-treated rats with similar cortical
injuries. The neurosteroid treatment did not affect the size of the necrotic cavity.
Keywords: Aging, male rats, progesterone, recovery of function, traumatic brain injury
