title: Effect of propentofylline on hypoxic-ischaemic brain damage in newborn rat.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Studies showed that propentofylline enhances the action of adenosine and protects hippocampal neuronal damage against transient global cerebral ischaemia. Our study was to investigate the effect of propentofylline on hypoxic-ischaemic brain damage in neonatal rat.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seven-day-old Wistar rats were subjected to unilateral common carotid artery ligation and hypoxia in oxygen 8 kPa for two hours at 37 degrees C. Propentofylline (10 mg/kg) was administered intraperitoneally one hour after hypoxia-ischaemia (treated group). Control group rats were received an equivalent volume of saline. The effects of propentofylline were assessed by observing the body mass gain, behavioural alteration and neurohistological changes. The rats were sacrificed at 72 hours after hypoxia-ischaemia, and the brain sections were examined after haematoxylin and eosin staining.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The propentofylline-treated rats had better body mass gain and better behavioural response than the paired saline-controls did. In the control group, the rats either lost body mass or had little mass gain after the insult, their average body mass gain was 97.3% at 24 h, 100.3% at 48 h, and 114.1% at 72 h of recovery. In propentofylline-treated group, there was a significant improvement of body mass gain at 24 h (100.2%, P < 0.05) and 48 h (110.3%, P < 0.01) of recovery; the percentage of rats that performed well on behavioural test was significantly higher from 48 h to 72 h of recovery (P < 0.05); the incidence of severe brain damage to the cerebral cortex and dentate gyrus was significantly reduced in propentofylline-treated rats (cortex, 93% - 70.8%, P < 0.01; dentate gyrus 95% - 66.7%, P < 0.01) as compared with control rats.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Administration of propentofylline 1 hour after hypoxia-ischaemia significantly attenuates brain damage in both the cerebral cortex and dentate gyrus, and also improves the body mass gain as well as behavioural disturbance in 7-day-old rats.
authors.affiliation: Beijing Obstetrics and Gynaecology Hospital, Beijing 100006, China. natus420@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Xiao-yan
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sameshima
authors.forename: Arturo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ota
authors.forename: Yi-xin
authors.initials: YX
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.forename: Tsuyomu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ikenoue
authors.forename: Kiyotaka
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Toshimori
authors.forename: Xing-hua
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D020925:Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000187:drug effects; D014970:Xanthines / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D014970:Xanthines; C032114:propentofylline