The effect of the sildenafil citrate on cerebral vasospasm and apoptosis following experimental subarachnoid hemorrhage in rats.

OBJECTIVE

The therapeutic effect of sildenafil citrate on cerebral vasospasm after experimental subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) was studied in a rat model.

METHODS

We used four groups of seven rats were as follows: no SAH, no treatment; SAH only; SAH plus 2 days of peroral sildenafil citrate 5mg/kg treatment and SAH plus 2 days of peroral sildenafil citrate 15 mg/kg treatment. Three different parameters were evaluated including the diameter of the basilar artery, the level of lipid peroxidation and the degree of the apoptosis 48 hours following SAH.

RESULTS

The results showed that sildenafil citrate attenuated SAH-induced cerebral vasospasm in the treatment groups in terms of the diameter of the basilar artery and lipid peroxidation in the two treatment groups, but there was no difference in terms of the level of apoptosis.

CONCLUSIONS

This study indicates that further research on the therapeutic effect of sildenafil citrate can be combined with the use of any apoptosis-blocking agent for the treatment of cerebral vasospasm following experimental subarachnoid hemorrhage.