title: Effect of remacemide hydrochloride on subarachnoid hemorrhage-induced vasospasm in rabbits.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to assess the role of an excitatory amino acid (EAA) receptor antagonist (remacemide hydrochloride) in a rabbit model of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH)-induced cerebral vasospasm. Cerebral angiograms were performed on 22 rabbits pre-SAH and 72 h post-SAH: 6 rabbits received an injection of mock cerebrospinal fluid (1 ml/kg) into the cisterna magna (group I, the control group); 6 rabbits were subjected to SAH but received no treatment (group II); autologous blood (1 ml/kg) from the central ear artery was injected into the cisterna magna of these rabbits; 6 rabbits were subjected to SAH (1 ml/kg) and treated with intraperitoneal (IP) bolus injections of remacemide hydrochloride (15 mg/kg) every 12 h beginning 30 minutes after SAH (group III); and 4 rabbits were not subjected to SAH but received IP bolus injections of remacemide hydrochloride every 12 h (group IV). Digital subtraction angiography was used to measure the diameter of the basilar artery. At 72 h post-SAH, vasospasm was evident in all untreated rabbits. The diameter of the basilar artery was reduced significantly below pre-SAH levels by 35.3 +/- 5.8% (mean +/- standard error of the mean). Treatment with remacemide hydrochloride significantly ameliorated vasospasm (27.3 +/- 5.4%, p < 0.001). These findings suggest that in this model EAAs may cooperate in the genesis of SAH-induced cerebral vasospasm and that NMDA receptor antagonism with remacemide hydrochloride can partially prevent the SAH-induced vasospasm of a large cerebral artery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zuccarello
authors.forename: A I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Upputuri
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Farmer
authors.forename: D K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Anderson
mesh_terms: D000081:Acetamides / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000818:Animals; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002533:Cerebral Angiography; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000187:drug effects; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D002546:Ischemic Attack, Transient / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D011817:Rabbits; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D013345:Subarachnoid Hemorrhage / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D000081:Acetamides; D000927:Anticonvulsants; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; C067553:remacemide