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Biomedical subjects

Qiu Li

Publications and source records attributed to Qiu Li.

21 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Postischemic administration of basic fibroblast growth factor improves sensorimotor function and reduces infarct size following permanent focal cerebral ischemia in the rat.

Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) is a polypeptide with potent trophic and protective effects on the brain. bFGF has been reported to exert neuroprotection against a wide variety of insults, including ischemic neuronal injury. To date, animal models of focal ischemia have not been translated to efficacy in stroke clinically with respect to testing of neuroprotective agents. Because functional outcome is the measurement of efficacy for putative neuroprotective agents in the clinic, we sought to evaluate the functional consequences of bFGF administration in rats subjected to focal ischemia. In this study, we assessed the effects of bFGF on functional outcome as well as infarct size in rats subjected to severe cerebral ischemia by permanent occlusion of the middle cerebral artery (MCAO). Male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to permanent MCAO by the intraluminal filament technique. Two hours following occlusion, rats were infused intravenously with either bFGF, at a dose of 150 microg/kg, or vehicle alone. Functional sensorimotor impairment, which was assessed by the accelerating rotarod test, was recorded at baseline and compared to performance assessed at 24 h after MCAO. Permanent occlusion of the MCA caused marked impairment in rotarod performance in both groups. Treatment of rats with bFGF showed a significant 46% improvement in rotarod fall latency when compared with that from the animals treated with vehicle alone. The volume of cortical infarction was significantly reduced by 32% as a function of bFGF treatment. These results suggest that the delayed intravenous administration of bFGF improves sensorimotor function as well as reduces infarct size following permanent focal ischemia in rat.

Animals↗

Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa antagonist, murine 7E3 F(ab') 2, and tissue plasminogen activator in focal ischemia: evaluation of efficacy and risk of hemorrhage with combination therapy.

Tissue hypoperfusion during cerebral ischemia results from occlusion of large and small vessels. Combination treatment strategies using fibrinolytics to thrombolyse an embolic clot and antiplatelet agents to prevent reocclusion and the formation of new platelet thrombi in the microcirculation may offer advantages over single-agent therapy. The authors report on the effects of tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA), a glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa receptor antagonist, 7E3 F(ab') 2, or a combination of the two agents in a focal embolic model of cerebral ischemia in Wistar rats. Focal ischemia was produced by introducing an autologous thrombus into the right side middle cerebral artery. Forty-six male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 6 groups: control (n = 8), 7E3 F(ab') 2 (n = 9, 6 mg/kg), rt-PA (n = 9, 10 mg/kg), rt-PA (n = 6, 20 mg/kg), and 7E3 F(ab') 2 with either 10 mg/kg (n = 10) (low-dose combination) or 20 mg/kg (n = 6) (high-dose combination) rt-PA. Evaluation of neurobehavioral scores, cerebral angiography, bleeding time, and measurement of brain infarction volume were used to determine efficacy. All actively treated groups showed a significant reduction in the infarct volume. Animals treated with 7E3 F(ab') 2 showed reduced infarction volumes (24.0 +/- 5.1%) compared with controls (42.43 +/- 5.6%, P < 0.02). Treatment with rt-PA significantly reduced infarction volume (20.7 +/- 3.3, = 0.01) at 10 mg/kg and at 20 mg/kg (19.5 +/- 8.2%, P < 0.05). Compared with vehicle-treated animals, the low-dose combination (16.4 +/- 5.5, P < 0.003) and high-dose combination (23.7 +/- 6.2%, P < 0.05) showed significant reduction in infarction volume. Cerebral angiography revealed significantly better recanalization in the combination group (5/6 animals in the high dose and 4/6 in low dose) compared with animals treated with 7E3 F(ab') 2 (3/10) or rt-PA alone (2/6). Bleeding time significantly increased from 11.25 +/- 1.9 minutes in the control group to 17 +/- 3.1 minutes in the rt-PA group, 24.5 +/- 2.6 minutes in the 7E3 F(ab') 2 group, 25.7 +/- 3.1 minutes in the low-dose combination group, and 32.5 +/- 4.7 minutes in the high-dose combination group. The incidence of intercerebral hemorrhage was highest in the high-dose combination group (6 of 6 animals) and lowest in the single treatment with 7E3 F(ab') 2 alone (1 of 10 animals) ( P < 0.05). Our data show that murine 7E3 F(ab') 2 alone has therapeutic effects when used after cerebral ischemia. Although this study suggests that higher doses of thrombolytic combined with anti-GPIIb/IIIa therapy may increases the risk of intracranial hemorrhage, the data also support the notion that anti-GPIIb/IIIa agents can safely be combined with low doses of thrombolytic agent to produce significant attenuation of neuronal damage with no increase in the incidence of cerebral hemorrhage.

Animals↗

Turbulence and circulating cerebral emboli detectable at Doppler ultrasonography: a differentiation study in a stenotic middle cerebral artery model.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Blood flow within the middle cerebral artery can be monitored by transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasonography. Arterial stenosis can produce turbulent flow, but controversy remains regarding the degree of stenosis needed to cause TCD-detectable turbulence. Furthermore, cerebral emboli and turbulent flow may coexist in the same patient. The current study was designed to study the relationship between stenotic degree and TCD-detectable turbulent flow and its differentiation from cerebral emboli. METHODS: A stenotic middle cerebral artery model was constructed to allow the study of different degrees of stenosis. TCD was used to detect the turbulent flow and embolic materials in the circulation model, and signal intensities were analyzed. RESULTS: Turbulent flow was generated with a series of short, asymmetric stenoses in this test. Transition of turbulence from laminar flow began to occur at a moderate degree of stenosis (55% reduction of cross-sectional area) but became dampened at the high degrees of stenoses (>/=75%). Turbulence caused a notable increase in average Doppler signal intensity. However, the degree of stenosis was not associated with signal intensity at the region where turbulence existed, but rather was related to the mean flow velocity measured at the narrowed region. Embolic materials such as air bubbles (30 micro m) and platelet-rich clots (100 micro m) had notably higher Doppler signal intensity than that produced by turbulence. CONCLUSION: TCD-detectable turbulence predominantly developed at a moderate arterial stenosis and its acoustic signature with TCD is different from that caused by air bubbles and platelet-rich clots.

Blood Flow Velocity↗