Cerebral protection with trimetazidine in transient brain ischemia in rats

Abstract The neuroprotective effect of trimetazidine (TMZ) on ischemic-reperfusion injury was tested by randomized, controlled, prospective study in a rat model of transient global cerebral ischemia. Thirty wistar albino rats were used for study. Animals in TMZ group (n = 10) received trimetazidine (3 mg/kg IV bolus) before the occlusion of carotid arteries. A similar volume of saline solution was used in the control group (n = 10). The sham group (n = 10) were anaesthetized and subjected to operative dissections without vascular occlusion. Physiological parameters, somatosensory evoked potentials (SEP's) were monitored. The neurological outcomes had been clinically evaluated and scored up to 4 days post ischemia. The intergroup differences were compared. Histological observations were clearly correlated with the neurological findings. The percentage of damaged neurons in CA1 and CA3 in subfield of hypochampus 34 ± 6% and 16 ± 6% in the TMZ group, whereas it was 44 ± 5% and 24 ± 5% in the control group (p < 0.05). The average neurologic score was significantly better in animals which received TMZ than in the controls at postoperative 24 hours (17.9 ± 1.4 in the TMZ group and 14.9 ± 1.6 in the control group, p < 0.05). The results suggest that trimetazidine reduces cerebral injury and preserves neurological function in transient global ischemia in rats.