Background and purpose: Normobaric oxygenation (NBO) and ethanol both provide neuroprotection in stroke. We evaluated the enhanced neuroprotective effect of combining these 2 treatments in a rat stroke model.
Methods: Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion for 2 hours. Reperfusion was then established and followed by treatment with either (1) an intraperitoneal injection of ethanol (1.0 g/kg), (2) NBO treatment (2-hour duration), or (3) NBO plus ethanol. The extent of brain injury was determined by infarct volume and motor performance. Oxidative metabolism was determined by ADP/ATP ratios, reactive oxygen species levels, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase activity, and pyruvate dehydrogenase activity. Protein expression of major nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase subunits (p47(phox), gp91(phox), and p67(phox)) and the enzyme pyruvate dehydrogenase was evaluated through Western immunoblotting.
Results: NBO and ethanol monotherapies each demonstrated reductions as compared to stroke without treatment in infarct volume (36.7% and 37.9% vs 48.4%) and neurological deficits (score of 6.4 and 6.5 vs 8.4); however, the greatest neuroprotection (18.8% of infarct volume and 4.4 neurological deficit) was found in animals treated with combination therapy. This neuroprotection was associated with the largest reductions in ADP/ATP ratios, reactive oxygen species levels, and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase activity, and the largest increase in pyruvate dehydrogenase activity.
Conclusions: Combination therapy with NBO and ethanol enhances the neuroprotective effect produced by each therapy alone. The mechanism behind this synergistic action is related to changes in cellular metabolism after ischemia reperfusion. NBO plus ethanol is attractive for clinical study because of its ease of use, tolerability, and tremendous neuroprotective potential in stroke.