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. 2000 Oct 31;97(23):12885–12890. doi: 10.1073/pnas.220412197

Table 3.

Effect of the NMDA antagonist CPP and the AMPA/kainate antagonist NBQX on neurodegeneration in the hippocampal CA3 subfield after traumatic brain injury

Treatment, time (h) Density of pyramidal cells in the hippocampal CA3 subfield, Nv, ipsilateral; mean × 106/mm3 ± SEM Density of pyramidal cells in the hippocampal CA3 subfield, Nv, contralateral; mean × 106/mm3 ± SEM Neurons, mean ± SEM % n
Sham 0.1899  ± 0.0019 0.1891  ± 0.0020 123,435  ± 1,235 100 14
Vehicle 0.1343  ± 0.0024 0.1899  ± 0.0018 85,852  ± 1,534 70 14
CPP, −2, −1, 0 0.1579  ± 0.0059 0.1887  ± 0.0016 102,635  ± 3,835219 83 8
CPP, 1, 2, 3 0.1088  ± 0.0144 0.1883  ± 0.0023 66,368  ± 8,784*** 54 8
CPP, 4, 5, 6 0.1162  ± 0.0051 0.1879  ± 0.0018 69,720  ± 3,061*** 56 9
CPP, 7, 8, 9 0.1233  ± 0.0033 0.1839  ± 0.0016 73,981  ± 1,980** 60 10
CPP, 10, 11, 12 0.1313  ± 0.0068 0.1876  ± 0.0013 84,032  ± 4,352 68 6
NBQX, −2, −1, 0 0.1871  ± 0.0043 0.1875  ± 0.0017 115,992  ± 2,666219 94 8
NBQX, 1, 2, 3 0.1694  ± 0.0035 0.1883  ± 0.0019 106,720  ± 2,205219 86 8
NBQX, 4, 5, 6 0.1624  ± 0.0018 0.1891  ± 0.0025 100,676  ± 1,116219 82 8
NBQX, 7, 8, 9 0.1561  ± 0.0016 0.1877  ± 0.0019 96,774  ± 1,001219 78 7
NBQX, 10, 11, 12 0.1412  ± 0.0021 0.1882  ± 0.0018 86,153  ± 1,281 70 8
Sham + CPP 0.1885  ± 0.0027 0.1892  ± 0.0013 120,650  ± 1,742 98 8
Sham + NBQX 0.1888  ± 0.0034 0.1885  ± 0.0023 120,045  ± 2,169 97 8

Treatment with CPP, 3 × 30 mg/kg, and NBQX, 3 × 30 mg/kg, was initiated 2 h before or 1, 4, 7, or 10 h after traumatic cortex injury. To quantitatively assess neuronal loss in the hippocampal CA3 subfield in Fischer 344 rats 3 days after injury, a stereological disector technique was used to estimate Nv. Morphometric analysis revealed that the volume of the hippocampal CA3 subfield in rats subjected to traumatic brain injury and treatment with CPP or NBQX did not significantly differ from that in rats subjected to brain trauma and vehicle and ranged from 0.61 to 0.64 mm3. The differences between vehicle- and drug-treated rats in the numbers of neurons remaining in the hippocampus after injury were analysed statistically by means of Student's t test. **, 

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, P < 0.01; ***, 

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, P < 0.001 vs. vehicle-treated rats. Stars indicate significant increase in neurodegeneration, while crosses indicate neuroprotection. Monitoring of blood pressure and arterial blood gases in rats subjected to head trauma and systemic treatment with either CPP (n = 8) or NBQX (n = 12) showed no evidence of cardiorespiratory compromise.