methimazole and Brain-Ischemia

We investigated protective effects of hypothyroidism on delayed neuronal death, gliosis, lipid peroxidation and Cu,Zn-superoxide dismutase (SOD1) in the gerbil hippocampal CA1 region (CA1) after 5 min of transient cerebral ischemia. The hypothyroidism was induced by 0.025% methimazole treatment. Free triiodothyronine and thyroxine levels were markedly decreased in the hypothyroid group. Four days after ischemia/reperfusion, only a few NeuN-immunoreactive (+) neurons were detected in the CA1 of euthyroid-ischemia (eu-ischemia) group; however, at this time point, the number of NeuN(+) neurons was significantly higher in the hypothyroid-ischemia (hypo-ischemia) group than in the eu-ischemia group. At 5 days postischemia, NeuN(+) neurons were significantly decreased in the hypo-ischemia group: The number of NeuN(+) neurons in this group was similar to that in the eu-ischemia group. Activations of GFAP(+) astrocytes and Iba-1(+) microglia in the CA1 were higher in the eu-ischemia group 3 and 4 days after ischemia/reperfusion. At 5 days postischemia, the activations of both the glial cells in the CA1 were similar between the two groups. 4-Hydroxy-2-nonenal (HNE), a marker for lipid peroxidation, immunoreactivity in the eu-ischemia group was higher than in the hypo-ischemia group; at 5 days postischemia, the immunoreactivity was similar between the two groups. In contrast, SOD1 level was lower in the CA1 of the eu-ischemia group. These results suggest that hypothyroid state does not protect against delayed neuronal death but only delays the neuronal death in the hippocampal CA1 region after transient cerebral ischemia by reducing lipid peroxidation and increasing SOD1.

Topics: Animals; Antithyroid Agents; Brain Ischemia; CA1 Region, Hippocampal; Cell Death; Cytoprotection; Gerbillinae; Gliosis; Hypothyroidism; Lipid Peroxidation; Male; Methimazole; Neurons; Oxidative Stress; Reperfusion Injury; Superoxide Dismutase; Superoxide Dismutase-1

The role of free oxygen radicals in blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption and postischemic hyperemia was evaluated in the rabbit model of focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion. Six groups of rabbits underwent clipping of the anterior cerebral, middle cerebral, and intracranial internal carotid arteries. Cerebral blood flow (CBF) was measured by using radiolabeled microspheres, before, during, and 15 minutes after 1-hour occlusion of these arteries. After 50 minutes of ischemia, Group 1 animals (control) received a placebo. Animals in Groups 2-4 received one of three drugs: catalase at 10 mg/kg, methimazole at 5 mg/kg, or indomethacin at 10 mg/kg. A fifth group received a tungsten-supplemented diet for 14 days before ischemia was induced, and a sixth group was sham operated. Microvascular integrity within the brain was determined by the presence or absence of Evan's Blue (EB)-albumin dye leakage across the BBB and was measured by microspectrofluorometry. In the control group during ischemia, CBF dropped to 14%, 7%, and 11% of preischemic levels in rostral, middle, and caudal sections of the brain, respectively, as characterized by extensive EB-albumin dye leakage through the BBB into the ischemic hemisphere. During early reperfusion, postischemic hyperemia was associated with an increase in CBF of 128%, 123%, and 129% of control in the rostral, middle, and caudal sections of the brain, respectively. In all treated groups and in the group receiving a tungsten-supplemented diet, BBB integrity was protected during reperfusion without inhibition of postischemic hyperemia. This study suggests that early disruption of the BBB to large molecules is mediated by free oxygen radicals, which inhibit rather than cause postischemic hyperemia.

Topics: Animals; Antioxidants; Blood Flow Velocity; Blood-Brain Barrier; Brain; Brain Ischemia; Capillary Permeability; Catalase; Free Radicals; Hyperemia; Indomethacin; Methimazole; Rabbits; Reactive Oxygen Species; Regional Blood Flow; Reperfusion Injury; Serum Albumin; Tungsten