Ibudilast reduces oxaliplatin-induced tactile allodynia and cognitive impairments in rats

Chemotherapy can cause serious neurotoxic side effects, such as painful peripheral neuropathies and disabling cognitive impairments. Four experiments examined whether Ibudilast, a clinically approved neuroimmune therapy, would reduce tactile allodynia and memory impairments caused by oxaliplatin in laboratory rats. Rats received an intraperitoneal injection of oxaliplatin (6 mg/kg i.p.) or vehicle and were assessed for tactile allodynia 3 or 5 days after injection, memory impairments in the novel object and novel location recognition tests 10-12 days after injection, and fear conditioning 14 days after injection. Ibudilast (7.5 mg/kg) or vehicle was administered prior to oxaliplatin (Experiments 1 and 3) or prior to behavioural testing (Experiments 2 and 4). Ibudilast treatment prior to oxaliplatin prevented the development of tactile allodynia and memory impairments. Ibudilast treatment prior to behavioural testing reduced oxaliplatin-induced tactile allodynia, memory impairments, and impaired renewal of fear conditioning. These results suggest that Ibudilast could be an effective treatment against oxaliplatin-induced neuropathies and cognitive impairments.