Gholamreza Bahadorkhan - Department of Neurosurgery, Emdad Academic Hospital, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, IR Iran
Mohammadali Abouei - Department of Neurosurgery, Emdad Academic Hospital, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, IR Iran
Omid Daneshvarfard - Department of Neurosurgery, Emdad Academic Hospital, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, IR Iran
Mohammad Hassan Arjmand - Ph.D. Candidate of Medical Biochemistry, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, IR Iran

Objectives: In this control trial study we showed the neuroprotective effects of the erythropoietin (EPO) in traumatic brain injuryin animal model.Methods: The research was carried out on 50 male Wistar rats weighing 200 to 250 g. They were divided into two groups of controlandcase. The rats were anesthetized, right frontal craniotomywasperformedandthen the braindamagewascaused by weight-dropmodel. In the case group, after 3 hours and again after 24 hours of craniotomy and creation of brain lesions in the right hemisphere,500 u/kg erythropoietin was injected into peritoneum but in the control group, the rats did not receive any drug. Then the behavior,motor function and balance on the second day and the fourteenth day after injection of erythropoietin were evaluated. After that,the rats were killed and the brain tissues sent to the laboratory for pathological assessment of brain tissues.Results: The average of cross-sectional damage in the case group that received erythropoietin drug was reported 22.55% and in thecontrol group 37.41%, and the motor balance function after fourteenth day in the group that received erythropoietin was 69.12% andbetter in comparison with the control group (46.27%) that did not receive any drug.Conclusions: erythropoietin has a protective effect on neurons and improves the sub-acute changes in head after brain injury andincreases the motor balance abilities in rats.

Traumatic Brain Injuries, Erythropoietin, Neuroprotection