Therapeutic effects of simultaneous Photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) and Meloxicam administration on experimental acute spinal cord injury: Rat animal model

Study design: Application of Photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) and meloxicam in acute spinal cord injury, functional recovery and histological evaluation. Objective: Evaluation of the effect of simultaneous PBMT and meloxicam on treatment of acute experimental spinal cord injury and comparing it with the effect of application of each of them separately. Setting: The study was conducted at the Department of Surgery & Radiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Institute of Biomedical Research, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran. Methods: Twenty four rats were used in this study. A compression injury was induced to the T8-T9 segment of the spinal cord of rats using a Fogarty embolectomy catheter. Rats were randomly divided into 4 groups including: Control group, PBMT (810 nm-200 mw-8 s-2 weeks) group, Meloxicam (1 mg/kg) group, and PBMT and Meloxicam (mixed) group. After inducing injury, hind limb performance of the rats was evaluated, using BBB test and then treatment intervention was performed and continued for 2 weeks. Results: Four weeks after injury induction, BBB test results were significantly higher in all treatment groups in comparison to control group, however, there were no significant differences among the treatment groups. In addition, histological findings revealed no significant difference between all 4 study groups. Conclusion: According to the results of this study we can conclude that simultaneous and separate application of PBMT and Meloxicam play an effective role in treatment of acute spinal cord injuries.