EFFECTS OF NAFTIDROFURYL OXALATE, A 5-HT2 ANTAGONIST, ON NEURONAL DAMAGE AND LOCAL CEREBRAL BLOOD-FLOW FOLLOWING TRANSIENT CEREBRAL-ISCHEMIA IN GERBILS

Effects of naftidrofuryl oxalate (naftidrofuryl), a 5-HT2 antagonist, on neuronal damage and local cerebral blood flow was examined in a ger bil model of transient forebrain ischemia. Effect of ketanserin tartra te (ketanserin), another 5-HT2 antagonist, on neuronal damage was also examined. Pretreatment with naftidrofuryl or ketanserin prevented hip pocampal CA1 neuronal loss after 5 min of transient ischemia. Naftidro furyl did not improve hippocampal blood flow during and 1 h after tran sient ischemia determined by [C-14]iodoantipyrine autoradiography but increased blood flow in the caudate-putamen 1 h after transient ischem ia. The results show that: (1) the 5-HT2 antagonists protect against h ippocampal CA1 neuronal damage; and (2) the protective effect of nafti drofuryl may not be caused by a hemodynamic mechanism but by a direct inhibitory neuromodulation via 5-HT2 antagonistic action.