Purpose: To examine with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)/magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) the long-term effects of cariporide in a canine cardiac ischemia/reperfusion model.
Materials and methods: Twenty-two beagles underwent a 2-hour occlusion followed by 10 days of reperfusion. Cine MRI and (31)P MRS were performed to monitor function and metabolism of the heart in the control (N = 10) and cariporide (N = 12) groups. Radioactively labeled microspheres were injected to determine coronary blood flow, and contrast-enhanced ex vivo MRI assessed infarct volumes.
Results: Cariporide produced a significant reduction vs. controls, in intracellular pH, during ischemia (P < 0.05) and at days 3 and 10 postreperfusion (P < 0.0005). Functional recovery of the myocardium was significantly improved immediately upon reperfusion (percent of baseline: 63.5% +/- 3.5% for controls, 90.5% +/- 7.2% for cariporide) and at day 3, but not by day 10. Normalized infarct ratios (IRs) were similar for controls and cariporide (0.58 +/- 0.08, 0.58 +/- 0.06, respectively).
Conclusion: Cariporide augments early functional recovery, while delaying normalization of intracellular pH following ischemia/reperfusion, but confers neither long-term functional or metabolic protection nor, most importantly, myocardial salvage.
Copyright 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.