PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Keskin, Emrah
AU  - Tönge, Çağhan
AU  - Kaya, Mustafa
AU  - Işık, Emre
TI  - Evaluation of the effects of berberine in the prevention of epidural fibrosis in rats
AID  - 10.15537/smj.2022.43.4.20210918
DP  - 2022 Apr 01
TA  - Saudi Medical Journal
PG  - 370--377
VI  - 43
IP  - 4
4099  - http://smj.org.sa/content/43/4/370.short
4100  - http://smj.org.sa/content/43/4/370.full
SO  - Saudi Med J2022 Apr 01; 43
AB  - Objectives: To evaluate the effect of berberine (BBR) in preventing the development of epidural fibrosis (EF) after lumbar surgery in rats.Methods: This experimental study was carried out at the animal laboratory of Zonguldak Bülent Ecevit University, Zonguldak, Trurkey, between April 2020 and June 2020. A total of 32 Wistar albino female rats underwent laminectomy and were divided into 4 equal groups. Group 1 did not receive any treatment (control group). In group 2, absorbable gelatin sponge was placed at the surgical site. Groups 3 was administered BBR 10 mg/kg and group 4 was administered BBR 60 mg/kg per oral per day for one week after laminectomy. All rats were sacrificed 6 weeks after the operation. Concentration of hydroxyproline (HP) in tissues and histopathological evaluations were carried out to evaluate the level of fibrosis.Results: Epidural fibrosis results in group 4 were significantly lower than those in groups 1 and 2 (p≤0.001). However, there was no significant difference between the mean EF degree between group 2 and group 3. Arachnoidal invasion in both group 3 and group 4 were significantly lower compared to group 1 (p<0.05). In terms of HP results, the difference between group 4 and group 1 was statistically significant (p<0.001).Conclusion: This study provides preliminary evidence of the potential use of BBR for preventing the development of EF.