Fosphenytoin disodium

Animal experiment:

A total of four groups of rats, including normal (n=2), sham operated (n=2), ischemia with saline-treated (n=2), and ischemia with fosphenytoin-treated (n=2), are studied. Postischemic rats in saline-treated and fosphenytoin-treated groups receive a single i.m. injection of saline or fosphenytoin (30 mg/kg), respectively, in the right hind limb 5 minutes after resuscitation. Sham-operated animals are treated similarly except for chest compression. All rats are killed on the 7th postischemic day by decapitation. Brains are immediately removed, bisected longitudinally, and immersed in 4% buffered neutral formaldehyde containing 0.25% glutaraldehyde for a minimum of 2 days at 4°C. Portions of the brain containing the dorsal hippocampus are coronally sectioned with a vibratome at 40 μm. With the aid of a dissecting microscope, rectangular blocks of about 1 mm2 in size encompassing the mid-CA1 region from sections that approximate Bregma -3.6 are dissected, postfixed in 2% osmium tetroxide, and dehydrated in ascending concentrations of ethanol before being embedded in Araldite 502. Sections of polymerized blocks 1 μm thick are cut and toluidine blue stained for light microscopic examination.

References:

[1]. Chan SA, et al. Fosphenytoin reduces hippocampal neuronal damage in rat following transient global ischemia. Acta Neurochir (Wien). 1998;140(2):175-80.
[2]. Loscher W, et al. Anticonvulsant effect of fosphenytoin in amygdala-kindled rats: comparison with phenytoin. Epilepsy Res. 1998 Mar;30(1):69-76.