RESUMO
Objective To evaluate the effect of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy on pathological and ul-trastructure changes in cortical neurons after model focal cerebral isehemia. Methods Middle cerebral artery occlu-sion (MCAO) using the Zea-Longa method was administered to 48 Sprague-Dawley rats, who were subjected to cere-bral ischemia for 2 hours followed by reperfusion. They were then randomly divided into a treatment group and a con-trol group. HBO was applied to the rats in the treatment group, and any changes in the pathology and uhrastructure of neurons in the cortex were observed at preset time points. Results The infarct volume was significantly smaller inthe treatment group than in the control group, and pathological changes in brain tissue were also milder. Conclu-sions HBO could help protect cortical neurons in acute cerebral ischemia.