title: The effect of sildenafil on an animal model for ischemic colitis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Sildenafil both enhances vasodilatation by relaxing the smooth muscle in the vessels and inhibits platelet aggregation. We have therefore examined the potential benefits of sildenafil on an animal model for ischemic colitis (IC).
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-eight female Wistar albino rats weighing 250-300 g were randomized into three experimental groups as follows: in Group 1, animals were sham operated (n = 8) and received tap water; in Groups 2 and 3, the rats underwent a standardized surgical procedure to induce IC (n = 10 in each group). Group 2 animals served as the controls, receiving only tap water, while Group 3 animals received 10 mg/kg sildenafil per day as a single dose for a 3-day period. All animals were sacrificed 72 h after devascularization. To determine the severity of the ischemia, we scored the macroscopically visible damage, measured the ischemic area and scored the histopathology. Tissue malondialdehyde levels were also evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean area of ischemic changes were 116.80 +/- 189.93 and 0.55 +/- 1.01 mm2 in Group 2 and 3 animals, respectively (p = 0.0001), while the macroscopically mean visible damage score decreased to 0.66 +/- 0.70 (p = 0.0001) for Group 3 animals. The Chiu scores were 0.00, 3.80 +/- 0.91 and 2.66 +/- 1.00 in Group 1, 2 and 3 animals, respectively. There was a statistically significant difference between Group 2 and 3 animals (p = 0.017).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings support the view that sildenafil leads to a improvement in IC due to its well-known effects on the vascular smooth muscle and on the microcirculatory hemodynamics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Zonguldak Karaelmas University, Arastirma ve Uygulama Hastanesi Bashekimligi, Kozlu-Zonguldak 67600, Turkey. oktaytip@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Oktay
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Irkorucu
authors.forename: Oge
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Taşcilar
authors.forename: Guldeniz Karadeniz
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Cakmak
authors.forename: Kemal
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Karakaya
authors.forename: Ali Ugur
authors.initials: AU
authors.lastname: Emre
authors.forename: Bülent Hamdi
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Ucan
authors.forename: Burak
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bahadir
authors.forename: Serefden
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Acikgoz
authors.forename: Handan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ankarali
authors.forename: Ebru
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ugurbas
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Comert
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D017091:Colitis, Ischemic / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D006439:Hemodynamics / Q000187:drug effects; D008315:Malondialdehyde / Q000378:metabolism; D008833:Microcirculation / Q000187:drug effects; D010726:Phosphodiesterase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010879:Piperazines / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011687:Purines / Q000494:pharmacology; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D000068677:Sildenafil Citrate; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013450:Sulfones / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D010726:Phosphodiesterase Inhibitors; D010879:Piperazines; D011687:Purines; D013450:Sulfones; D008315:Malondialdehyde; D000068677:Sildenafil Citrate