Deferoxamine reduces cavity size in the brain after intracerebral hemorrhage in aged rats.

This study investigated whether deferoxamine (DFX), an iron chelator, reduces cavity size after ICH in aged rats. Aged male Fischer rats (18 months old) had an intracaudate injection of 100 μL autologous blood and were treated with DFX or vehicle. Rats were euthanized at day 56 and brains were perfused for histology and immunohistochemistry. Hematoxylin and eosin staining was used to examine hematoma cavity presence and size. Immunohistochemistry was performed to measure the number of cells positive for ferritin, heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and OX-6. Neurological deficits were also examined. In aged rats with ICH, a cavity formed in the caudate in 7 out of 12 vehicle-treated rats and 1 out of 9 DFX-treated rats. DFX treatment significantly reduced the size of the ICH-induced cavity (p<0.05) as well as neurological deficits (p<0.05). DFX also reduced the number of ferritin (p<0.05) and HO-1 (p<0.01) positive cells in the ipsilateral basal ganglia. However, DFX had no effect on brain GFAP and OX-6 immunoreactivity 2 months after ICH.In conclusion, DFX reduces cavity size, neurological deficits, and immunoreactivity for ferritin and HO-1 after ICH in aged rats, supporting the suggestion that DFX may reduce brain injury in ICH patients.