Effects of cervical-lymphatic blockade on brain edema and infarction volume in cerebral ischemic rats

To observe the effects of cervical-lymphatic blockade (CLB) on brain edema and infarction volume of ischemic (MCAO) rat, we examined changes in cerebral water content, Ca2+ and glutamate concentrations, cerebral infarction volume and mRNA expression levels of N-methyl-D-aspartame receptor 1 (NMDA receptor 1) in the ischemic (left) hemisphere. The present results demonstrated that all the above indices in rats with middle cerebral artery occlusion plus cervical lymphatic blockade (MCAO+CLB) were markedly higher than those with only middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) at different time points. These results indicated corrected] that CLB can aggravate cerebral ischemia by increasing brain edema and infarction volume.