Effects of erythropoietin on neurological injury after brain ischemia and reperfusion in rats

Objective To investigate the effects of erythropoietin on infarction volume and the scores of neurological deficits after focal brain ischemia and reperfusion in rat. Methods The model of focal brain ischemia was made by occluding middle cerebral artery(MCA) for 2 h and reperfusion for 2,6,12,48,72 h,7 d and 10 d.The rats received rhEPO(3 000 U/kg of body weight)or saline i.p before the beginning of reperfusion.The score of neurological deficits were determined at the time points.The infarction volume was marked by 2%triphenyltetrazolium chloride(TTC) at 2,6,12,48 and 72 h,7 d and 10 d. Results The infarction was detected at 2 h after focal brain ischemia and reperfusion.With prolonging of time,the infarction volume became more and more large.The infarction volume peaked at 24 h after ischemia and reperfusion.Compared with control group,the infarction volumes were significantly smaller at 6,12,48 and 72 h,7 d and 10 d in EPO group.Conclusion The results indicate that EPO has protective effect on neuron injury in rats with focal brain ischemia and reperfusion.