The effect of acetyl l-carnitine on ultrastructure of injured motoneuron synapses in adult rat

Spinal cord compression is a relatively common neurological complication in developing country. This study was designed to assess neuroprotective effect of acetyl L-carnitine.

16 adult Sprague Dawley rats weighing 250 to 300 g were divided into 4 randomized groups, namely, A-laminectomy with daily intraperitoneal injection of acetyl L-carnitine. B- laminectomy with daily intraperitoneal injection of saline. C- group A+ mechanical compression and D- group B+ mechanical compression. After 4 weeks, they were sacrificed for morphological study by light microscope and ultrastructure of synaptic zone of motoneurons was evaluated by electron microscope. The results were analyzed by Tukey’s and ANOVA by SPSS Ver 19. Furthermore, the significance level was P<0.05.

The morphological results indicated that compression causes reduction of spinal cord motoneurons. Acetyl L-carnitine decreased this reduction of motoneurons after spinal cord compression and preserved motoneurons ultrastructure in synaptic zone and mitochondria.

In this study, acetyl L-carnitine was effective on preservation of ultrastructure of motoneuron synapses after mechanical compression in spinal cord. Of course, the measure of these changes in means of decreasing the effect of mechanical compression after spinal cord compression needs further researches.