title: The efficacy of edaravone (radicut), a free radical scavenger, for cardiovascular disease.
abstract: Edaravone was originally developed as a potent free radical scavenger, and has been widely used to treat acute ischemic stroke in Japan since 2001. Free radicals play an important role in the pathogenesis of a variety of diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases and stroke. Therefore, free radicals may be targets for therapeutic intervention in these diseases. Edaravone shows protective effects on ischemic insults and inflammation in the heart, vessel, and brain in experimental studies. As well as scavenging free radicals, edaravone has anti-apoptotic, anti-necrotic, and anti-cytokine effects in cardiovascular diseases and stroke. Edaravone has preventive effects on myocardial injury following ischemia and reperfusion in patients with acute myocardial infarction. Edaravone may represent a new therapeutic intervention for endothelial dysfunction in the setting of atherosclerosis, heart failure, diabetes, or hypertension, because these diseases result from oxidative stress and/or cytokine-induced apoptosis. This review evaluates the potential of edaravone for treatment of cardiovascular disease, and covers clinical and experimental studies conducted between 1984 and 2013. We propose that edaravone, which scavenges free radicals, may offer a novel option for treatment of cardiovascular diseases. However, additional clinical studies are necessary to verify the efficacy of edaravone.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Dentistry, Mahidol University, 6 Yothe Road, Rajthevee, Bangkok 10400, Thailand. kikuchi_kiyoshi@kurume-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Kiyoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kikuchi
authors.forename: Salunya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tancharoen
authors.forename: Nobuyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Takeshige
authors.forename: Munetake
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yoshitomi
authors.forename: Motohiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Morioka
authors.forename: Yoshinaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Murai
authors.forename: Eiichiro
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tanaka
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000983:Antipyrine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D000077553:Edaravone; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D020521:Stroke / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D016166:Free Radical Scavengers; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D000077553:Edaravone; D000983:Antipyrine