Effect of cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase inhibitors on delayed neuronal death in the gerbil hippocampus.

The purpose of our study was to examine whether cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase inhibitors ameliorate delayed neuronal death in the hippocampal CA1 sector in Mongolian gerbils after 5 minutes of forebrain ischemia. Gerbils were injected intraperitoneally with cyclooxygenase inhibitors piroxicam and flurbiprofen or with lipoxygenase inhibitors AA-861 and BW-755C. Seven days after ischemic insult, the animals were perfusion-fixed, and the neuronal density in the hippocampal CA1 sector was estimated. The average neuronal density in unoperated normal gerbils was 247 +/- 9/mm (mean +/- SEM). In ischemic gerbils with vehicle administration, the average neuronal densities were 13 +/- 2, 14 +/- 2, 13 +/- 2, and 13 +/- 1 for piroxicam, flurbiprofen, AA-861, and BW-755C, respectively. The average neuronal densities in ischemic gerbils treated with 1.5 and 10 mg/kg piroxicam and 1.5 and 10 mg/kg flurbiprofen were 13 +/- 2, 194 +/- 9, 19 +/- 5, and 143 +/- 12, respectively. In ischemic gerbils treated with 15 and 100 mg/kg AA-861 and 30 mg/kg BW-755C, the average neuronal densities were 12 +/- 1, 13 +/- 1, and 14 +/- 2, respectively. At their higher doses, both piroxicam and flurbiprofen significantly (p less than 0.01) ameliorated delayed neuronal death in the hippocampal CA1 sector. Our results suggest that cyclooxygenase products play an important role in the development of delayed neuronal injury after cerebral ischemia.