Korean J Pain.  2007 Dec;20(2):83-91. 10.3344/kjp.2007.20.2.83.

Effect of Superior Cervical Sympathetic Ganglion Block on Brain Injury Induced by Focal Cerebral Ischemia/Reperfusion in a Rat Model

• Lee AR
• Yoon MO
• Kim HH
• Choi JM
• Jeon HY
• Shin JW
• Leem JG

• KMID: 2278046
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3344/kjp.2007.20.2.83

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Cerebral blood vessels are innervated by sympathetic nerves that originate in the superior cervical ganglia (SCG). This study was conducted to determine the effect of an SCG block on brain injury caused by focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion in a rat model.
METHODS
Male Sprague-Dawley rats (270-320 g) were randomly assigned to one of three groups (lidocaine, ropivacaine, and control). After brain injury induced by middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion/reperfusion, the animals were administered an SCG bloc that consisted of 30 microliter of 2% lidocaine or 0.75% ropivacaine, with the exception of animals in the control group, which received no treatment. Twenty four hours after brain injury was induced, neurologic scores were assessed and brain samples were collected. The infarct and edema ratios were measured, and DNA fragmented cells were counted in the frontoparietal cortex and the caudoputamen.
RESULTS
No significant differences in neurologic scores or edema ratios were observed among the three groups. However, the infarct ratio was significantly lower in the ropivacaine group than in the control group (P<0.05), and the number of necrotic cells in the caudoputamen of the ropivacaine group was significantly lower than in the control group (P<0.01). Additionally, the number of necrotic and apoptotic cells in theropivacaine group were significantly lower than inthe control group in both the caudoputamen and the frontoparietal cortex (P<0.05).
CONCLUSIONS
Brain injury induced by focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion was reduced by an SCG block using local anesthetics. This finding suggests that a cervical sympathetic block could be considered as another treatment option for the treatment of cerebral vascular diseases.

Keyword

cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury; local anesthetics; sympathetic ganglion block

MeSH Terms

Anesthetics, Local
Animals
Blood Vessels
Brain Injuries*
Brain*
DNA
Edema
Ganglia, Sympathetic*
Humans
Lidocaine
Male
Middle Cerebral Artery
Models, Animal*
Rats*
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
Superior Cervical Ganglion
Vascular Diseases
Anesthetics, Local
DNA
Lidocaine