thiourea and Ischemic-Attack--Transient

Remote areas connected to cortical infarcts, such as the thalamus, are affected by stroke due to delayed retrograde degeneration of afferent connections. This is temporally associated with the accumulation of β-amyloid (Aβ) and calcium. Here we tested a hypothesis that prevention of excessive Ca(2+) influx into the axoplasm via the reverse Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchanger (NCX) would provide axonal protection and eventually lessen the Aβ and calcium load in the thalamus. We found that chronic treatment with a specific inhibitor of the reverse NCX, KB-R7943 (30mg/kg once daily, 27 days) after middle cerebral artery occlusion did not prevent atypical secondary pathology in the thalamus or improve functional outcome. The present data do not support a role for reverse NCX activity in the complex pathology within the thalamus after cerebral ischemia.

Topics: Amyloid beta-Peptides; Animals; Calcium; Ischemic Attack, Transient; Male; Motor Skills; Peptide Fragments; Rats, Wistar; Sodium-Calcium Exchanger; Thalamus; Thiourea

Our newly synthesized delta-(S-methylisothioureido)-L-norvaline (L-MIN) was shown to have potent inhibitory effects on Ca(2+)-dependent and constitutively expressed neuronal nitric oxide synthase (type I NOS) when compared to other commonly recognized NOS inhibitors and produced an IC50 value of 5.7 nM. By contrast, this compound exhibited more than 40-fold weaker inhibitory effects on the other NOS isoforms. Administration of L-MIN (0.1, 0.3 and 1 mg kg-1, i.p.) to rats immediately after 2 h middle cerebral artery occlusion and 2 h reperfusion reduced infarct size in a dose-dependent manner. These results suggest that type I NOS activation has a crucial role in the pathogenic cellular mechanisms underlying cerebral ischaemia.

Topics: Analysis of Variance; Animals; Arterial Occlusive Diseases; Cerebral Arteries; Citrulline; Disease Models, Animal; Enzyme Inhibitors; Evaluation Studies as Topic; Ischemic Attack, Transient; Isoenzymes; Male; Neuroprotective Agents; Nitric Oxide Synthase; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Thiourea

The objective of this study was to assess whether dimethylthiourea (DMTU), an established free radical scavenger, ameliorates ischaemic damage due to 2-3 h of transient middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion, induced by an intraluminal filament. A major point addressed was whether DMTU given before MCA occlusion only delayed the "maturation" of the damage, or if it had a lasting effect on infarct size. The end point was morphological, and either encompassed triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining of tissue slices after 24 h or 48 h of recovery, or histopathological assessment of infarct size after 7 days of recovery. In a preliminary series of experiments, rats were subjected to 3 h of MCA occlusion, and infarct volume was assessed by TTC staining after 24 h of recovery. DMTU in a dose of 750 mg/kg reduced infarct volume by more than 50%. However, due to a high mortality rate, that protocol was not subsequently pursued. When the ischaemia duration was reduced to 2 h and the DMTU dose to 400 mg/kg, a similar amelioration of the tissue damage was observed. However, since DMTU reduced a spontaneous rise in body temperature to 39.0-39.5 degrees C, DMTU-treated animals in the main series of experiments with 24 and 48 h of recovery were treated so that they had the same temperature rise as the saline controls. Under such constant temperature conditions, the effect of DMTU at 24 h of recovery was borderline (P = 0.052) and at 48 h it was nil. The lack of a lasting effect of DMTU was supported by the findings on evaluation of infarct area after 7 days of recovery. The results raise the important question whether DMTU, and perhaps other free radical scavengers, delay rather than ameliorate the ischaemic lesion developing after transient MCA occlusion.

Topics: Animals; Body Temperature; Cerebral Arteries; Cerebral Infarction; Free Radicals; Histocytochemistry; Ischemic Attack, Transient; Male; Oxazines; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Rosaniline Dyes; Staining and Labeling; Tetrazolium Salts; Thiourea

Hyperglycemia is known to worsen the outcome of transient global or forebrain ischemia. The aggravating effect is believed to be mediated by the additional formation of lactate- and of H+. Recent evidence suggests that reactive oxygen species contribute to the damage after brain ischemia. Since acidosis accelerates free radical damage in vitro, we decided to explore if ischemic damage in hyperglycemic subjects is ameliorated by dimethylthiourea (DMTU), an established free radical scavenger. In one series of hyperglycemic rats, we studied whether preischemic administration of DMTU alters the clinical outcome, notably the incidence and frequency of seizures. In two different series, the effect of DMTU on tissue damage was assessed by light microscopy after 15 h of recovery. Longer periods could not be studied since seizures developed. In the first of these series the animals were anesthetized with isoflurane, and in the second with halothane. The latter anesthesia largely suppressed the "early" postischemic seizures, i.e. those occurring after 1-4 h. Dimethylthiourea treatment altered the clinical outcome after ischemia. Thus, the "late" postischemic seizures appeared milder and occurred significantly later than in untreated animals. The fatal outcome was also delayed since treated animals died after 35.5 +/- 8.2 h (mean +/- SD) of recirculation, as compared to 19.8 +/- 3.6 h of recirculation in control animals. However, all DMTU-treated (and control) animals died. In the first morphological series (isoflurane anesthesia) the histopathological analysis was complicated by the occurrence of prefixation seizures; such seizures were recognized in 4/16 animals. When these 4 animals were excluded from the analysis (2 treated and 2 control animals), DMTU pretreatment did not ameliorate the damage, except in the substantia nigra pars reticulata (P < 0.05). In the second series, comprising animals anesthetized with halothane, only one animal out of 16 had "early" seizures, and none showed "late" seizures before death. Among these animals DMTU treatment significantly ameliorated damage to caudoputamen and cingulate cortex (P < 0.01). We conclude that treatment with the free radical scavenger DMTU partly ameliorates ischemic brain damage associated with excessive acidosis, and marginally delays the development of post-ischemic seizures. However, the effects were moderate and could, at least in part, have been caused by nonspecific effects of DMTU. Furthermore, all DMT

Topics: Animals; Blood Glucose; Cerebrovascular Circulation; Free Radical Scavengers; Hyperglycemia; Ischemic Attack, Transient; Male; Prognosis; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Thiourea