Experimental study of evaluation on neuroprotective effect for tetramethylpyrazine against focal cerebral ischemic injury with diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging / 中国中西医结合杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the neuroprotective effect of tetramethylpyrazine (TMP) against focal cerebral ischemic injury in rats with diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWMRI).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Rat models of focal cerebral ischemic injury were established in 16 male SD rats. They were randomly divided into the TMP group and the control group, eight in each group, and pretreated with TMP and normal saline respectively before modeling. Change of infarcted cerebral focus was observed with DWMRI at 1, 2, 6, 12 and 24 hrs after infarction, and the infarction volume (IV) at 24 hrs after modeling was estimated by triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) stain.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The IV in all time points observed in the TMP group with DWMRI was significantly smaller than that in the control group (P<0.01). Compared with that at 1 hr after infarction, in the control group at 2, 6, 12 and 24 hrs after modeling, the IV enlarged by 13.3%, 29.7%, 50.3% and 57.3% respectively, while that in the TMP group 9.9%, 21.3%, 37.1% and 40.5% respectively. The cerebral IV estimated by TTC stain 24 hrs after modeling was larger than that estimated by DWMRI.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>TMP pretreatment before modeling was effective in protecting brain against cerebral ischemic damage in rats. DWMRI dynamic scanning observation has important significance in observing the cerebral ischemic developing process and evaluating the effectiveness of brain protective measures.</p>