Does Piroxicam really protect ischemic neurons and influence neuronal firing in cerebral ischemia? An exploration towards therapeutics
Authors: Pallab Bhattacharya
Sudip Paul
Ranjana Patnaik
Anand Kumar Pandey
Journal: Medical Hypotheses (2013)
Discipline: CLINICAL MEDICINE
Keywords: Cerebral ischemia; EEG measures; neural dysfunctions; advanced EEG research; EEG power spectrum density
Affiliations: School of Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, U.P., India. 

Abstract:  Cerebral ischemia is still one of the most confusing and enigmatic neurological disorders with least understood injuries. The EEG measures have been traditionally used to detect residual neural dysfunctions after cerebral ischemia although having several shortcomings, yielding controversial and inconsistent results. It is feasible to hypothesize that advanced EEG research can overcome these shortcomings and provide more clear information regarding the long lasting neural impairment in the subjects suffered from brain stroke. To our understanding, EEG power spectrum density measures can significantly contribute towards intervening drug administered diseased model and give us correct status of neuronal firing after an insult. On the basis of our findings we hypothesize that Piroxicam, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) can protect neurons and improves neuronal firing after ischemia/reperfusion injury in animal model of focal cerebral ischemia. This is the first ever finding which advocates the role of Piroxicam, a NSAID in neuronal firing apart from its other neuroprotective roles. Thus, we consider the possibility of modulation of neuronal firing as a therapeutic strategy to help prevent neuronal dysfunctions in cerebral ischemia. 

Retracted: No

PubPeer comments:
 **Fig. 2.** Improvement in infract volume was found in Piroxicam pretreated vehicle Rats. The same image is used by author in different article with different treatment. How could different treatment yield similar images? , 
 The  Plos One article with similar images mentioned in above figure comments ( Piroxicam 5mg kg) now stands retracted however enigma still remains that whether the images belong to the research published in  Plos One or the other articles. The above image panel published in  Medical Hypothesis, 2013 seems to have some images similar to the images published in an article in  Neuropharmacology in 2010 . The article published in  Neuropharmacology has images in black and white, while the color images were provided by the authors . Interestingly, the  Plos One retraction mentions this very same article from  Neuropharmacology in their retraction statement.  , 
 November 2020 u201cIn figure 2 of this article there is a representation of improvement in infract volume in Piroxicam pre-treated vehicle Rats (* vs. sham ** vs. Vehicle) between the different groups by TTC staining. We rectify the previous misuploaded TTC images and provide correct representative TTC images.  The changes has no significant difference in the infarct volume graph and conclusion of the study. The authors would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused.u201d See also: https: pubpeer.com search?q=authors%3A%22Ranjana+Patnaik%22 ,