Comparative effects of chloralose anesthesia and Sernylan analgesia on cerebral blood flow, CO2 responsiveness, and brain metabolism in the baboon.

A comparison was made between the effects of two different anesthetics, alpha-D-gluco-chloralose and 1-1-phenylcyclohexyl piperidine hydrochloride (Sernylan), on cerebral blood flow (CBF), brain metabolism and cerebrovascular CO2 responsiveness in primates. The experiments were carried out on immobilized and artificially ventilated baboons. Anesthesia was induced either with 100/mg/kg chloralose (i.p.) or with 1 mg/kg Sernylan (i.m.). CBF in 8 different brain regions was measured by the intra-arterial 133Xe clearance technique. The CO2 responsiveness of the cerebrovascular bed was tested by a gas mixture containing 5% CO2. Chloralose depressed total as well as regional CBF compared to the effect of Sernylan. A significant shift occurred toward lower CBF values in the grey matter while white matter flow was identical in the two groups. Brain O2 consumption was significantly higher during Sernylan analgesia (3.35 +/- 0.34 ml/100 g/min) than during chloralose anesthesia (2.42 +/- 0.22 ml/100 g/min). There were no differences in glucose uptake, lactate and pyruvate production, or in arterial and cerebral venous blood gases in the two types of anesthesia. The cerebrovascular CO2 sensitivity of the Sernylan-treated baboons was higher than that of the chloralose-anesthetized animals, in both the grey and white matter.