Cerebral ischemia reperfusion-induced vasogenic brain edema formation in rats: Effect of an intracellular histamine receptor antagonist

Resuscitation in pediatric emergency and some neurological interventions may result in ischemia reperfusion-induced cerebral injuries. Histamine is one of the well established mediators of cerebral swelling and H1- and H2-receptor antagonists could prevent the development of ischemic brain edema. In the present study, time-dependent changes in the blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability were investigated in the cerebral cortex of male Wistar rats 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 h after the beginning of post-ischemic reperfusion. Cerebral ischemia-reperfusion evoked by the 4-vessel occlusion model resulted in significant (p<0.05) elevations in BBB permeability for albumin, but not for sodium fluorescein. Pre-treatment with a new intracellular histamine receptor antagonist could not prevent ischemic brain edema formation in that model. We conclude that experimental studies could help us to reveal the therapeutic role of histamine receptor antagonists during ischemic brain edema.