Figure 1.

Neurotrophic effects of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) or its agonist, leuprolide acetate, on the rat spinal cord. (A) Spinal cord neurons in culture incubated with saline; (B) treated with GnRH (10 nM) for 24 h; (C) spinal cord section of control rats; (D) injured spinal cord of rats that received saline solution; (E) spinal cord of rats treated with leuprolide acetate (10 µg/kg, i.m.) for five weeks. In spinal cord sections of rats treated with leuprolide acetate, the configuration of white and gray matter is more similar to that in the control rats and looks better than in those that received saline solution only. Spinal cord injury sections from rats with saline solution show many large cavities without nervous tissue. 10× magnification. The arrows indicate neuritic growth. Bar scale is 10 µM.