The effect of oxygen therapy on brain damage and cerebral pO(2) in transient focal cerebral ischemia in the rat.

We examined the effect of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) and normobaric oxygen (NBO) on neurologic damage and brain oxygenation before and after focal cerebral ischemia in rats. A middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO)/reperfusion rat model was used. The rats were sacrificed 22 h after reperfusion, and the infarct volume was evaluated. In study A, HBO (2.0 ATA), NBO (100% oxygen) and normobaric air (NBA) were each administered for 60 min in five different rat groups. The sizes of the infarcts after HBO and NBO applied during ischemia were 8.8 +/- 2.8% and 22.8 +/- 3.7% respectively of the ipsilateral non-occluded hemisphere. The infarct size after HBO applied during ischemia was statistically smaller than for NBO and NBA exposure (p < 0.01). In study B, cerebral pO(2) was measured before and after MCAO and HBO exposure (2.0 ATA for 60 min) in six rats using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) oximetry. The pO(2) in the ischemic hemisphere fell markedly following ischemia, while the pO(2) in the contralateral hemisphere remained within the normal range. Measurements of the pO(2) performed minutes after HBO exposure did not show an increase in the ischemic or normal hemispheres. The mean relative infarct size was consistent with the changes observed in study A. These data confirm the neuroprotective effects of HBO in cerebral ischemia and indicate that in vivo EPR oximetry can be an effective method to monitor the cerebral oxygenation after oxygen therapy for ischemic stroke. The ability to measure the pO(2) in several sites provides important information that should help to optimize the design of hyperoxic therapies for stroke.

Black magic and EPR oximetry: from lab to initial clinical trials.

EPR oximetry is a technique that can make repeated non-invasive measurements of the PO2 in tissues. To extend the application of EPR oximetry to humans, India ink is the probe of choice because appropriate India inks have EPR signals whose line widths are sensitive to changes in oxygen concentrations, and, most importantly, India ink already has been used extensively in humans as a marker in the skin, lymphatics, various organs during surgery, tumors, and for decoration as tattoos. We have developed an India ink that has good sensitivity to oxygen, high stability in tissues, good signal intensity, and minimal toxicity. In this article we describe the various properties of this India ink, results obtained from our animal experiments, and our first preliminary clinical results, which are part of the first systematic clinical use of EPR oximetry. The clinical results indicate that it is possible to do repeated measurements over several months and probably years after the injection of the ink, indicating that long-term follow-up studies are feasible. We are very encouraged with these results and are confident that EPR oximetry using India ink will be a non-invasive, fast, and reliable technique for pO2 measurements in clinical studies.