Radiology, Vol 174, 417-419, Copyright © 1990 by Radiological Society of North America
Effect of repeated injections of chymopapain in the epidural space
CM Nguyen, VM Haughton and KC Ho
Department of Radiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital, Milwaukee 53226.
Because arachnoiditis occurred in a previous experimental study, the
authors performed additional experimental injections of chymopapain in the
epidural space. Four monkeys received epidural injections of 100 units of
chymopapain in 1.2 mL of saline on days 1, 8, and 16 of the experiment;
four control animals received injections of 1.2 mL of 0.9% saline on the
same days. Both groups were killed on the 84th day. The dural sac was
removed, fixed, sectioned, stained, and examined microscopically. No
significant changes were found in the arachnoid, dura, or epidural space of
the treated animals. Chymopapain, even if injected repeatedly into the
epidural space, does not cause significant scarring in the meninges.
