Noninvasive Delayed Limb Ischemic Preconditioning in Rats Increases Antioxidant Activities in Cerebral Tissue during Severe Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury

Background To study the protection offered by noninvasive delayed limb ischemic preconditioning (NDLIP) against cerebral ischemia reperfusion (I/R) injury in rats. Materials and Methods Healthy male Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups. The delayed protection offered by NDLIP was estimated in light of changes in the neural behavior marker and cerebral tissue antioxidative ability. Neurological functions were studied by observing neural behavior. Total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD), manganese-superoxide dismutase (Mn-SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX), and xanthine oxidase (XOD) activity in cerebral tissue and malonaldehyde (MDA) content were detected using a spectrophotometer. Mn-SOD mRNA was measured by the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction method. Results Cerebral infarct size was diminished in the early cerebral ischemia preconditioning (ECIP)+I/R and NDLIP+I/R groups compared with the I/R group ( P < 0.05). The cortical and hippocampal antioxidant enzyme activity and Mn-SOD expression were increased in the ECIP+I/R and NDLIP+I/R groups. In contrast, the cortical and hippocampal XOD activity and MDA content decreased in the ECIP+I/R and NDLIP+I/R groups. Conclusions NDLIP decreased cerebral infarct size, increased cerebral antioxidative ability after I/R injury, and decreased peroxidative damage. The antioxidative protection offered by NDLIP was as effective as that offered by ECIP.