Dimethyl sulfoxide increases latency of anoxic terminal negativity in hippocampal slices of guinea pig in vitro

Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), which is widely used as a solvent for a variety of drugs, was used in the present study to investigate its ability to incre ase the hypoxic tolerance of brain tissue in vitro. DC-potentials and evoke d potentials (EP, Schaffer collateral stimulation) were recorded in the CA1 region of hippocampal slices from adult guinea pigs. The latencies of the negative DC-potential shift (anoxic terminal negativity, ATN) after onset o f hypoxia (95% N-2, 5% CO2) were determined during superfusion with artific ial cerebrospinal fluid (aCSF) or DMSO 0.4% dissolved in aCSF, respectively . The latencies of ATN were increased by DMSO application from 7.5 +/- 0.9 min (mean +/- SEM) under control conditions (n = 38) to 11.1 +/- 1.3 min wi th DMSO (n = 22, P < 0.01). These results demonstrate a neuroprotective eff ect of DMSO. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.