Acute improvement in histological outcome by MK-801 following focal cerebral ischemia and reperfusion in the cat independent of blood flow changes.

The present study reports on the acute effects of MK-801 on the histopathological outcome and blood flow changes during focal cerebral ischemia and reperfusion. In addition, acute changes in the EEG and blood pressure are also reported. In 16 halothane-anesthetized cats, the left middle cerebral artery (MCA) was occluded for 2 h followed by 4 h of reperfusion. Thirty minutes after the onset of ischemia, eight animals were treated with 1 mg/kg of MK-801, while eight animals received saline. Blood flow from the peripheral MCA territory was measured with H2 clearance. There was a comparable reduction in blood flow (down to 20% of control) in the ischemic gyri of the two groups followed by a partial recovery after recirculation. There was a similar decrease in the EEG amplitude over the ischemic central MCA territory in the treated and the untreated group. Treatment with MK-801 induced a burst suppression in the EEG and a transient drop (11.4 +/- 6.5 mm Hg) in the mean arterial pressure. The volume of early ischemic damage decreased by one-third in the MK-801-treated group compared to the untreated one, both in the total hemisphere (from 29 +/- 10 to 20 +/- 5%) and in the hemispheric cortex (range 36 +/- 8 to 24 +/- 13%). A major fraction of this improvement was localized to the middle and posterior parietal (mainly perifocal) regions of the MCA territory. These results show that in our model, MK-801 improves histopathological outcome despite the lack of apparent effect on the cortical blood flow, and an adverse effect on the systemic blood pressure. This is the first report that describes data on a reproducible model of reperfusion after temporary occlusion of the MCA in a cat, extending the findings of the Glasgow group, who observed similar neuroprotection in models of permanent MCA occlusion.