Effect of efonidipine hydrochloride, a calcium channel blocker, on the experimental cerebral ischemia/anoxia]

The anti-ischemic and anti-anoxic effects of efonidipine, a dihydropyridine calcium antagonist, were studied in several models for cerebral ischemia and anoxia in mice and rats, and the effects were compared with those of nicardipine and flunarizine. Both efonidipine and flunarizine showed protective effects in the models of KCN-induced anoxia and complete ischemia induced by decapitation in mice 6 hr after the treatment, while nicardipine did not show such a long-lasting effect. Efonidipine (1 mg/kg, i.p.), but not nicardipine and flunarizine, prolonged the tolerance times in the asphyxic anoxia model. In mice, efonidipine (4 mg/kg, i.p.) significantly reduced the cumulative mortality rate after bilateral carotid artery ligation. The survival rates at 20 hr after bilateral carotid artery ligation were 33% in the group treated with efonidipine, significantly higher than that in the control group, 0%. On the other hand, the treatment with nicardipine or flunarizine did not increase the rates at 20 hr after the ligation. Moreover, efonidipine attenuated the disturbance of cerebral energy metabolism induced by decapitation in rats. These effects of efonidipine observed in this study were on the whole superior to those of the reference drugs, strongly suggesting the improving effect of efonidipine on cerebral ischemia and anoxia.