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Phosphodiesterase Inhibition as a Therapeutic Target for Brain Ischemia
Lígia Mendes Soares, Jos Prickaerts, Humberto Milani
1Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, State University of Maringa, Av. Colombo, 5790, CEP 87020-900, Maringa, Parana, Brazil. rmmwoliveira@uem.br.
Abstract:
Preclinical studies have shown that phosphodiesterase inhibitors (PDE-Is) represent a potential pharmacological strategy for the treatment of brain ischemia sequelea. PDE-Is 3, 4 and 5 have been tested in several brain ischemia models. All the three PDE-Is after acute or chronic treatment decreased the degree of neurodegeneration and most of them improved functional recovery after brain injury by specific cellular and molecular mechanisms mainly involving an anti-inflammatory and/or neuroprotection action. In contrast to the large number of investigations using PDE-Is in experimental brain ischemia research, the number of clinical studies is still limited. The purpose of this review is to summarize the data currently available on the effects of PDE-Is in experimental models of cerebral ischemia.
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