Allopurinol amelioration of the pathophysiology of acute myocardial infarction in rats.

Adult, male, Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to an acute and massive myocardial infarct with isoproterenol. Some of the animals were treated with the anti-hyperuricemic agent, allopurinol, either before or during the induction of myocardial infarction. Autopsy of animals at hourly and daily intervals demonstrated that treatment with allopurinol provided protection against the untoward pathophysiologic changes which attend this kind of experimental infarct. Allopurinol was anti-arrhythmic and caused improved myocardial repair accompanied by reduced fluctuations in circulating CPK, SGOT, SGPT, LDH, and myoglobin. Changes in blood lipids, glucose, and BUN suggests that allopurinol exerts some of its myocardial protective effects through its positive influence on protein metabolism. Allopurinol appears to alter adrenal steroidogenesis which may also play a role in the myocardial salutary effects of this drug.