Inhibition of Brain Swelling after Ischemia-Reperfusion by β-Adrenergic Antagonists: Correlation with Increased K⁺ and Decreased Ca²⁺ Concentrations in Extracellular Fluid

Table 2

Brain water content in MCAO model after 3 hr ischemia and 8 hr reperfusion in the right hemisphere under control conditions (only saline injected intraventricularly before the occlusion) and after injection of a NKCC1 inhibitor or - or -adrenergic subtype-specific antagonists, dissolved in saline.

	Left hemisphere	Right hemisphere
Saline	77.97 ± 0.17 ( = 8)	81.28 ± 0.34 ( = 8)^*
Ethacrynic	77.46 ± 0.11 ( = 7)	78.29 ± 0.76 ( = 7)
Betaxolol	78.02 ± 0.17 ( = 7)	78.44 ± 0.58 ( = 7)
ICI118551	77.78 ± 0.32 ( = 7)	81.08 ± 0.18 ( = 7)^*

In rats with MCAO in the right hemisphere drugs were added 15 min before the occlusion as described in Methods. Water content was calculated as (wet weight − dry weight)/wet weight × 100%. In control animals (the same value as in Table 1) an increase in the ipsilateral hemisphere was significant ( < 0.05), as marked with *. In the presence of ethacrynic acid or the -adrenergic antagonist betaxolol no significant effect was seen, but in the presence of the -adrenergic antagonist ICI118551 water increased significantly ( < 0.05) in the ipsilateral hemisphere as marked with *.