Effect of MCI-186 on brain edema in rats

We induced brain edema in 72 rats by injecting 5 microliters of 3.0% wt:vol polyvinyl acetate into the left internal carotid artery, producing permanent embolization in the left cerebral hemisphere, which developed ipsilateral brain edema reproducibly. Edema was assessed 24 hours after embolization by determining the brain water content and the sodium and potassium concentrations. In this model, the free radical scavenger MCI-186 at 1.0 and 3.0 mg/kg i.v. prevented brain edema in a dose-dependent manner. At 3.0 mg/kg i.v., MCI-186 significantly reduced water content by 1.5% and improved the sodium-potassium balance to within the normal range in the embolized left hemisphere. Dexamethasone at 1.0 mg/kg i.v. did but at 3.0 mg/kg i.v. did not significantly inhibit the development of brain edema. Indomethacin at 4.0 mg/kg i.p. had no effect on brain edema. We suggest that the cyclooxygenase metabolites of arachidonic acid liberated from neuronal cell membrane phospholipids are not likely to be involved in the pathogenesis of permanent brain edema induced by polyvinyl acetate. Our results suggest that MCI-186 attenuates brain edema by suppressing the production of lipoxygenase metabolites, including free radicals or lipid peroxides, and that it may prove valuable for the treatment of brain edema associated with cerebral ischemia.