Cilostazol Attenuates Gray and White Matter Damage in a Rodent Model of Focal Cerebral Ischemia

Background and Purpose— To evaluate whether delayed treatment with the antiplatelet agent cilostazol reduces the volume of infarction in the gray and white matter in a rodent model of permanent focal cerebral ischemia and to explore the mechanism of the neuroprotective effect in vivo. Methods— Cilostazol (30 or 50 mg/kg) or vehicle was administered by gavage 30 minutes and 4 hours after the induction of cerebral ischemia by permanent occlusion of the left middle cerebral artery (MCA). Animals were euthanized 24 hours after MCA occlusion, and the volume of gray matter damage was evaluated by quantitative histopathology. Axonal damage was determined with amyloid precursor protein immunohistochemistry. Dynamic susceptibility contrast MRI was used to assess regional cerebral blood volume (CBV) and cerebral blood flow (CBF). Results— Treatment with the higher dose of cilostazol (50 mg/kg) significantly reduced the volume of gray matter damage and axonal damage in the cerebral hemisphere by 45.0% (P<0.02) and 4...