Ischemic neuronal damage after acute subdural hematoma in the rat: effects of pretreatment with a glutamate antagonist.

Abstract

The ability of a competitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist (D-CPP-ene) to reduce irreversible brain damage has been examined in a rodent model of acute subdural hematoma. Acute subdural hematoma was produced by the slow injection of 400 microliters homologous blood into the subdural space overlying the parietal cortex in halothane-anesthetized rats. Brain damage was assessed histologically in sections at multiple coronal planes in animals sacrificed 4 hours after induction of the subdural hematoma. Pretreatment with D-CPP-ene (15 mg/kg) significantly reduced the volume of ischemic brain damage produced by the subdural hematoma from 62 +/- 8 cu mm (mean +/- standard error of the mean) in vehicle-treated control rats to 29 +/- 7 cu mm in drug-treated animals. These data demonstrate the anti-ischemic efficacy of NMDA antagonists in an animal model of intracranial hemorrhage in which intracranial pressure is elevated, and suggest that excitotoxic mechanisms (which are susceptible to antagonism by D-CPP-ene) may play a role in the ischemic brain damage which is observed in patients who die after acute subdural hematoma.

• Authors: M H Chen, R Bullock, D I Graham, J D Miller, J McCulloch
• Journal: Journal of neurosurgery (J Neurosurg) Vol. 74 Issue 6 Pg. 944-50 (Jun 1991) ISSN: 0022-3085 [Print] United States
• PMID: 2033455 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Organophosphorus Compounds
• Piperazines
• SDZ EAA 494

Topics

• Animals
• Brain Ischemia (etiology, pathology, prevention & control)
• Hematoma, Subdural (complications, pathology)
• Hemodynamics (drug effects)
• Male
• Organophosphorus Compounds (blood, pharmacology)
• Piperazines (blood, pharmacology)
• Rats
• Rats, Inbred Strains