FIGURE 2.

DFU treatment attenuated brain prostaglandin E₂ levels after TBI. Hippocampal PGE₂ production was maximal in the injured brain at approximately 24 hours after injury. DFU (1 mg/kg initiated 10 min before injury) decreased injury-induced PGE₂ production at 24 hours after injury. Micropunches of fresh-frozen brain (bregma −3.1 to −3.6 according to the coordinates of Paxinos and Watson [74]) were dissected, and PGE₂ levels were determined as described in Materials and Methods. Parietal cortex showed essentially the same profile (sham: 7.6 ± 0.5; injured/vehicle: 25.6 ± 8.5; injured/DFU: 12.8 ± 2.9 pg PGE₂). Sham-operated animals from each time point (n = 2) showed no differences in PGE₂ levels and were grouped together at time zero; otherwise, n = 3 to 4 per point. *, P < 0.05, Dunnett’s test; §, P < 0.05, Scheffé’s test.