Insulin protects brain tissue against focal ischemia in rats.
The influence of insulin on the infarct volume due to middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion was investigated in rats. A small dose of insulin (1 unit/kg) was injected i.p. just after MCA occlusion. The infarct areas were measured by planimetry from brains perfused with 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium-chloride (TTC) 48 h after the occlusion. Systemic variables were measured before and at various times after ischemia. The comparison between insulin-treated (n = 14) and control (n = 13) rats provided evidence that insulin significantly reduced the infarct volume due to MCA occlusion. As insulin minimally and transiently decreased blood glucose, the present results suggest that insulin exerts a beneficial effect directly on the central nervous system.
Izumi
Y
Y
Laboratoire de Recherches Cérébrovasculaires, CNRS UA 641, Université Paris VII, France.
Pinard
E
E
Roussel
S
S
Seylaz
J
J
D000758:Anesthesia; D000818:Animals; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D002536:Cerebral Arteries / Q000502:physiology; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D007328:Insulin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344
D001786:Blood Glucose; D007328:Insulin