Effects of blockade of cerebral lymphatic drainage on cerebral ischemia after middle cerebral artery occlusion in rats

This experiment aimed to investigate the effects of blockade of cerebral ly mphatic drainage on cerebral ischemic damage. Seventy six Wistar rats were divided randomly into middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) group and MCA O plus cerebral lymphatic blockade (MCAO+CLB) group for the experiment. The contents of water and electrolytes, the activity of superoxide dismutase ( SOD) and the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) in the ischemic brain tissue were detected at 24, 48 and 72 hours after the operation. The morphologic e xamination was also performed. In MCAO group, contents of water, sodium and calcium in the ischemic brain tissue increased significantly at any time a fter the operation. The SOD activity decreased while the MDA content increa sed markedly. The morphologic findings showed severe damage of ischemic bra in tissue and neurons. In MCAO+CLB group, the above parameters were altered more obviously. The present observation suggests that blockade of cerebral lymphatic drainage may deteriorate ischemic brain damage after MCAO.