Therapeutic Effects of Naloxone Combined with Edaravone on Elderly Patients with Acute Cerebral Infarction

Yuanyuan Chen, Weiwei Heng, Mengwei Hao, Lechao Li, Meng Xu and Xiaojing Li

Background and Objective: The effects of the combination of naloxone and edaravone on acute cerebral infarction (ACI), a severe cerebrovascular disease, have seldom been referred. This study aimed to assess the therapeutic effects of naloxone combined with edaravone on elderly ACI patients. Materials and Methods: A total of 176 ACI patients were randomly divided into control and experimental groups (n = 88) to be administered with edaravone and naloxone combined with edaravone, respectively for 2 weeks. Neurological function was evaluated by the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score. Living ability was assessed with the Barthel score. The levels of serum inflammatory factors and related markers were measured. Results: The total effective rate of the experimental group (92.05%) exceeded that of the control group (72.73%) (p<0.05). Two weeks after treatment, cerebral infarction volume and NIHSS score significantly declined and Barthel score rose in both groups, especially in the experimental group (p<0.05). Interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-8, tumor necrosis factor-α, C-reactive protein, matrix metalloproteinase-9, neuron-specific enolase, S100B, ubiquitin carboxy-terminal hydrolase L1, homocysteine, Fibulin-5, thromboxane B2 and 6-keto-prostaglandin F1α levels reduced in both groups, being lower in the experimental group (p<0.05). Superoxide dismutase and vascular endothelial growth factor levels increased in both groups, which were higher in the experimental group (p<0.05). Conclusion: Naloxone combined with edaravone exerts obvious therapeutic effects on ACI by inhibiting inflammatory cascade and platelet aggregation, reducing cerebral infarction volume, endothelial cell adhesion and blood viscosity, promoting angiogenesis and improving neurological function and daily living ability.

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