Effect of pentoxifylline on brain edema in a rat model of transient focal cerebral ischemia

Pervious studies have shown that pentoxifylline (PTX) has beneficial effects in reduction of stroke and brain trauma injuries in experimental animals. However, there is very little and controversial information about the effect of PTX on brain edema in cerebral ischemia. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the effects of different doses of PTX on brain edema and neurological motor dysfunction in a rat model of transient focal cerebral ischemia. Transient focal cerebral ischemia was induced in Wistar rats by 60 min middle cerebral artery occlusion, followed by 23 h reperfusion. PTX was injected at doses of 15, 30 and 60 mg/kg ip at the beginning of ischemia. Twenty-four h after ischemia, neurological motor dysfunction and the percentage of brain water content (edema) were determined. Administration of PTX at the dose of 60 mg/kg significantly reduced brain water content (P<0.001) and neurological motor dysfunction (P<0.01) in comparison with the control group, while 15 and 30 mg/kg of PTX had no significant effect on any of the parameters. The findings of this study indicate that PTX only at the dose of 60 mg/kg exerts anti-edematous effects and improves neurological motor dysfunction in the acute phase of transient focal cerebral ischemia in rat.