Abstract
Summary
Methylprednisolone (45 mg/kg) given to rats subjected to drum trauma (LD85) significantly increased survival time from 2.4 to 4.5 hr. Coincident with the prolonged survival was a higher mean arterial blood pressure. Methylprednisolone exerted no effect on blood pressure in nontraumatized control rats. Furthermore, traumatic shock resulted in a fourfold increase in circulating cathepsin D activity and a threefold increase in circulating MDF activity. Methylprednisolone significantly (p < 0.01) prevented the increase in both substances. The data suggest that methylprednisolone protects in traumatic shock by a mechanism involving lysosomal membrane stabilization rather than by an active hemodynamic action.
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