Comparison of early and late naloxone treatment in experimental spinal injury.

The effects of early (1 hour posttrauma) and late (4 hours posttrauma) naloxone treatment on neurologic recovery were compared after experimental cervical spinal injury. Neurologic scores did not differ significantly between the early and late naloxone-treatment groups, and both naloxone groups showed significantly better neurologic recovery than saline-treated controls during a 6-week follow-up. These findings confirm the therapeutic benefit of opiate antagonists in experimental spinal injury and indicate that even delayed naloxone treatment is effective in improving neurologic outcome.