A comparison of the cerebral protective effects of isoflurane and mild hypothermia in a model of incomplete forebrain ischemia in the rat.

The present study was undertaken to examine the cerebral protective properties attributed to isoflurane and at the same time to compare its protective effects with those of mild hypothermia (temperature reduction by 3 degrees C). Twenty-one fasted Wistar-Kyoto rats were assigned to one of three groups (n = 7); 1.3 MAC (end-tidal) isoflurane-normothermia (pericranial temperature 38.0 degrees C), 1.3 MAC halothane-normothermia, and 1.3 MAC halothane-hypothermia (pericranial temperature 35.0 degrees C during ischemia). In each animal the trachea was intubated and the lungs were mechanically ventilated. Each animal was subjected to temporary incomplete forebrain ischemia induced by 10 min of bilateral carotid artery occlusion with simultaneous hypotension (mean arterial pressure 35 mmHg) induced by trimetaphan and blood withdrawal. After a 3-day survival period, perfusion-fixation was performed, and two blinded observers assessed histopathologic injury according to a four-point scale (0 = no damage; 1 = less than 10% of neurons damaged; 2 = 10-50% damaged; and 3 = greater than 50% damaged). The assessment was performed at two points in the rostrocaudal axis chosen to permit evaluation of regions with varying levels of ischemic damage. In the rostral sections, in the isoflurane- and halothane-normothermia groups, moderate to severe injury was observed in striatum, cerebral cortex, hippocampus (CA1 and CA3 areas), and reticular nucleus of the thalamus (e.g., the median scores for the CA1 area were 3 in both the halothane-hypothermia and the isoflurane-normothermia groups), and there were no differences between the two groups.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)