Dipyridamole plus Triflusal versus Triflusal Alone in Infarct Reduction after Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The objective of this work is to study the dose-dependent effect of combination therapy with dipyridamole and triflusal over that of triflusal alone on infarct size after middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) ischemia.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

Male Wistar rats were subjected to a permanent MCAO in the right hemisphere. Rats received triflusal alone and with dipyridamole via oral route. Three days after surgery, infarct volumes were measured.

RESULTS

The lower dose regime of triflusal (10 mg/kg) and dipyridamole (200 mg/kg) caused the greatest decrease in infarct size compared with higher dose regime of triflusal (30 mg/kg) and dipyridamole (200 mg/kg) (P <.01), triflusal (30 mg/kg) alone (P <.07), and vehicle-treated controls.

CONCLUSIONS

The lower dose combination of dipyridamole and triflusal appears to be more effective than triflusal alone after MCAO-induced cerebral ischemia. Therefore, there is a strong rationale to continue to examine the protective effects of triflusal and dipyridamole after cerebral ischemia.