title: The effects of prolonged treatment with citicoline in temporary experimental focal ischemia.
abstract: Potential therapeutic effects of cytidine 5-diphosphocholine (citicoline), a key intermediary in the biosynthesis of the membrane phospholipid, phosphatidylcholine, are presumably related to enhanced phospholipid synthesis in the ischemic brain. We evaluated prolonged citicoline treatment in a temporary focal ischemia model. Using the suture occlusion model, we induced 2 hours of temporary ischemia in 30 Sprague-Dawley rats. The rats were randomly and blindly assigned to receive intraperitoneally 500 mg/kg citicoline (HD), 100 mg/kg citicoline (LD) or physiologic saline as the control group once daily for 7 days (n = 10 per group) beginning at the time of reperfusion. Neurological scoring (0-5 scale) was performed daily. After elective sacrifice on day 7, or earlier if death occurred prematurely, the brains underwent 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining for calculation of corrected infarct and edema volume. The mean corrected infarct volume in the HD group was 125 +/- 45.2 mm3 (mean +/- SD), significantly smaller than controls, 243.5 +/- 88.6 mm3 (p < 0.01, Scheffe's-test). The LD group infarct volume was 200.2 +/- 62.8 mm3 (N.S.). The mean amount of brain edema in the HD group was 46.4 +/- 45.6 mm3 was smaller than the controls, 92.3 +/- 54.4 mm3 and the LD group, 84.9 +/- 71.7 mm3 (N.S.). Mortality before day 7 in the HD was 30% while it was 50% in the two other groups. The neurologic score on day 7 was 2.5 +/- 1.8 in the HD group, 3.3 +/- 1.8 in the LD group and 3.4 +/- 1.7 in controls (N.S.). These results demonstrate that extended high dose citicoline treatment significantly reduced infarct volume in this temporary focal ischemia model and that there was a trend toward reducing brain edema and mortality. These effects may be related to membrane stabilization and inhibition of free fatty acid release.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Medical Center of Central Massachusetts, Worcester 01605, USA.
authors.forename: W R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Schäbitz
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takano
authors.forename: B W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Sandage
authors.forename: K W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Locke
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fisher
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001157:Arterial Occlusive Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy; D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control; D002536:Cerebral Arteries; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000517:prevention & control; D003566:Cytidine Diphosphate Choline / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004487:Edema / Q000517:prevention & control; D002546:Ischemic Attack, Transient / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D018697:Nootropic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D018697:Nootropic Agents; D003566:Cytidine Diphosphate Choline