Protective effects of minaprine in infarction produced by occluding middle cerebral artery in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats.

1. We examined the effects of minaprine on cerebral infarction produced by occluding of unilateral middle cerebral artery (MCA) above the rhinal fissure in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP). 2. Oral administration of minaprine (60 mg/kg/day) and vehicle were started 30 min after the occlusion of MCA, and continued for 6 days. 3. The brain was dissected out and 36 coronal multiple sections of the whole brain were histologically prepared to determine the location and extension of infarction. 4. The infarcted area produced by the occlusion of MCA was limited to the cerebral cortex. 5. Body weight of the minaprine-treated rats gradually decreased within 4 days after the occlusion of MCA and thereafter increased, whereas in the vehicle-treated rats, there was a gradual decrease during the experimental period. 6. Size of the infarcted area was serially measured, in each section, using a microcomputer imaging device. In all animals with an occluded MCA, there was a typical pattern of ischemic damage. 7. Post-treatment of MCA occluded SHRSP with minaprine resulted in reduction in infarct size, as compared to findings in the vehicle-treated controls. 8. The pharmacological and histopathological effects of minaprine on the progress of cerebral infarction produced by the occlusion of MCA in SHRSP are discussed.