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

Abstract

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&#x2009;mg/kg) and dipyridamole (200&#x2009;mg/kg) caused the greatest decrease in infarct size compared with higher dose regime of triflusal (30&#x2009;mg/kg) and dipyridamole (200&#x2009;mg/kg) (P&#x2009;<.01), triflusal (30&#x2009;mg/kg) alone (P&#x2009;<.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.