Nimodipine improves regional cerebral blood flow and suppresses inflammatory factors in the hippocampus of rats with vascular dementia.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To study the effect of nimodipine on hippocampal regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) and proinflammatory cytokines in rats with experimental vascular dementia.

METHODS:

Male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups (n = 15/group): sham operated controls (group A); focal cerebral ischaemia (group B); vascular dementia (group C); and vascular dementia treated with 20 mg/kg nimodipine daily (group D). The Morris water maze test evaluated learning and memory, and magnetic resonance perfusion-weighted imaging was used to measure rCBF. Hippocampal levels of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin 1β (IL-1β) were measured.

RESULTS:

Compared with group C, rats in group D demonstrated significantly improved learning ability and significantly increased hippocampal rCBF. The levels of NF-κB, TNF-α and IL-1β were significantly lower in group D than in group C. Hippocampal nerve cell morphology was abnormal in group C but near normal in group D.

CONCLUSIONS:

Nimodipine improved the symptoms of cognitive impairment, increased rCBF, reduced hippocampal cytokine levels and alleviated neuronal injury in the hippocampus of rats with experimental vascular dementia.

• Authors: X-L Zhang, S-L Zheng, F-R Dong, Z-M Wang
• Journal: The Journal of international medical research (J Int Med Res) Vol. 40 Issue 3 Pg. 1036-45 ( 2012) ISSN: 1473-2300 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 22906276 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Calcium Channel Blockers
• Nimodipine

Topics

• Animals
• Calcium Channel Blockers (pharmacology)
• Cerebrovascular Circulation (drug effects)
• Dementia, Vascular (physiopathology)
• Hippocampus (physiopathology)
• Immunohistochemistry
• Inflammation (physiopathology)
• Male
• Maze Learning
• Nimodipine (pharmacology)
• Radioimmunoassay
• Rats
• Rats, Sprague-Dawley