Effects Of Atorvastatin On The Elimination Of Subdural Hematoma In Rats

Background and Purpose—As we all know, inflammatory effects influence chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) formation to a large extent. Being independent of its cholesterol-lowering function, atorvastatin has pleiotropic effects on restraining inflammation and promoting angiogenesis. Hence, it is assumed that application of atorvastatin induces anti-inflammation effects and facilitates therapeutic effects for subdural hematoma (SDH).Methods—First of all, adult male Wistar rats were subjected to SDH and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was applied to demonstrate successful establishment of SDH. For the treatment, rats suffering SDH were randomly divided into2groups, i.e., saline group (the control group in which rats were treated by saline, n=29) and atorvastatin group (where rats were treated by atorvastatin,3mg/kg/day, n=30). At the same time, treatment was initiated6hours after SDH induction. In addition, volume of lesion before treatment as well as on the2n and7th days after initial treatment was measured by MRI, respectively. The behavioral functions before SDH induction and on the1st,3rd,5th and7th days after the initial treatment were dynamically evaluated. Genes and proteins of inflammation-related cytokines (TNF-a, IL-6and IL-10), genes of the angiogenesis-related cytokines (VEGF), number of neutrophilic granulocyte andvascular density were measured in both neomembrane and SDH lesion on the2nd and7th days after the initial treatment, respectively.Results—It was found that the SDH rats treated by atorvastatin had a better behavior recovery compared to the ones treated by saline (p<0.05). By virtue of MRI scanning, it was revealed that SDH volumes were eliminated at a high speed by administration of atorvastatin than that of saline. With the help of the microscopic examination in the neomembrane, it was detected density of CD31+neovasculars in the atorvastatin group was significantly higher than that in the saline group and number of neutrophilic granulocyte in the atorvastatin group is less than that in the saline group. In comparison with saline treatment, the atorvastatin treatment did not change IL-10gene and protein expression, but it significantly decreased TNF-a and IL-6gene and protein expression as well as VEGF gene expression.Conclusions—SDH elimination along with an improvement in neural function of the rats were resulted from atorvastatin treatment, which induced anti-inflammatory effects. Hence, it indicated that statin-inducing modulation of inflammation might play a significant role in rats’SDH elimination and the functional recovery.