Effect of Nimodipine on Cerebral Edema of Rats with Diffuse Axonal Injury

Objective:To observe the therapeutic effect of nimodipine on cerebral edema in rats with diffuse axonal inju ry (DAI).Methods:Two hundred Wistar rats were divided randomly into two groups,DAI group and treatment group.Ni modipine 0.5 mg/(kg·d) was injected intravenously in treatment group.The brain edema was detected before DAI and 6 h,1 d,3 d and 7 d after DAI.The permeability of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) was observed by the change of Evans blue (EB) content.Results:The brain water content was the highest at 1 d after DAI,and the EB content was the highest at 3 d after DAI.There were significant differences in the brain water content and the EB content of different time points between two groups (P 0.001).The proportion of the brain water content was significantly lower at 6 h,1 d and 3 d after DAI in treatment group than that of DAI group(P 0.05 or P 0.01).The EB content was significantly lower at 6 h,1 d,3 d and 7 d after DAI in treatment group than that of DAI group (P 0.01).Conclusion:Nimodipine can decrease the permeability of BBB and alle viate brain edema after DAI.