Failure of levemopamil to improve histological outcome following temporary occlusion of the middle cerebral artery in cats.

Levemopamil, a novel calcium channel blocker with antagonistic action on serotonin S2-receptors has been reported to be a promising compound for therapy in cerebral ischemia. This data has been obtained in the rat only, and it is of interest to determine if these beneficial effects are present in other models of ischemia in other species. The present study was therefore designed to examine its effect on histological outcome and changes in EEG after focal cerebral ischemia and reperfusion in the cat. Focal cerebral ischemia was induced by a reversible 1 hour occlusion of the middle cerebral artery followed by reperfusion of the brain. Six hours after the induction of the insult, the brain was perfusion-fixed and evaluated for histological damage by light microscopy. In 8 animals an intravenous infusion of levemopamil was initiated 5 minutes after middle cerebral artery occlusion at a rate of 4 mg/kg/h for 15 min and then at 0.6 mg/kg/h until the end of the study. A control group (n = 7) received a similar infusion of saline. The EEG amplitude did not differ between the two groups at any point of the study. The area of ischemic damage in the sections obtained for histological examination at 1-mm intervals, as well as the total volume of ischemic damage for both groups (treated: 1.33 cm3; untreated: 0.97 cm3) also did not show any significant differences. These results indicate that postischemic treatment with levemopamil at this dose, and in this model of focal cerebral ischemia and reperfusion, does not attenuate the ischemic damage.