BACKGROUND: A large amount of cell dies of apoptosis in secondary injury stage after spinal cord injury.OBJECTIVE: To probe into the influence of local intraspinal infusion with danshen injection on necrosis and apoptosis of spinal cell after acute spinal cord injury.DESIGN: Randomized controlled experiment was designed.SETTING: Clinical Medical Trial Center of People' s Hospital Affiliated to Yunyang Medical College.MATERIALS: Forty-four Chinese white rabbits of first grade were employed, aged varied from 4 to 5 months, of either sex, mass weighted varied from 2.0 to 2.5 kg.INTERVENTIONS: The experiment was performed in Clinical Medical Trial Center of People' s Hospital Affiliated to Yunyang Medical College from June 2002 to July 2003. Two groups were randomized, named danshen group and the control group, 22 rabbits for each. In both groups, modified Allen method was used to prepare the model of incomplete spinal cord injury. In danshen group, danshen injection was infused from subdural catheter for 4times at 0. 3 mL/kg per day of the total amount (once every 6 hours). In the control group, physiological saline of same dose was injected. The animals were sacrificed at the 8th, 24th and 72nd hours successively after injection for pathological and histomorphologic observation, peroxide dismutase and malondialdehyde determination and determination of positive cell count of B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), the apoptosis-inhibition gene.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Cell apoptotic index and cell apoptotic rate in the region of spinal cord injury.RESULTS: Forty-four rabbits entered result analysis for all. ① Results of cell apoptosis: Apoptotic index in danshen group was less remarkably than that in the control group(13.10 ± 1. 38, 20.39±2.96, 4.101, P ＜0.01); cell apoptotic rate was lower remarkably than the control group[ (9.67 ± 1.09)%,(14.68±2.81)%, t=4.072, P ＜0.01] and Bcl-2 expression was more than that in the control group[ (19. 12 ± 4.74) /mm2, ( 13.37 ± 3.68) /mm2,t = 2. 347, P ＜ 0.01 ]. ② POD content: The result in danshen group was higher thanthe control group[ (136.20 ± 13.64) NU/mL, (101.70 ± 15.24) NU/mL,t = 4. 132, P ＜ 0.01 ]. ③ Malondialdehyde content: The result in danshen group was lower than the control group[ (1.27 ± 0. 22) nmol/mL,(2.54±0.69) nmol/mL, t=4.309, P ＜0.01] . ④Degeneration and necrosis of neuron and neural fiber: The result in danshen group was milder than the control group.CONCLUSION: After local infusion with danshen(Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae), cell apoptosis was decreased in local spinal cord injury and cell necrosis was inhibited and alleviated after acute spinal cord injury.