PROPOFOL NEUROPROTECTION IN A RAT MODEL OF ISCHEMIA-REPERFUSION INJURY

This study was designed to test the hypothesis that propofol, which po ssesses antioxidant properties, would produce greater protection than isoflurane in cerebral ischaemia reperfusion injury, at dose levels th at produced similar effects on brain electrical activity. Twenty Sprag ue-Dawley rats were anaesthetized using isoflurane 1.5% in air/oxygen, and mechanically ventilated to a PaCO2 of 4.5 kPa. Following 90 min o f middle cerebral artery occlusion using an intraluminal filament, rat s were given, in random order, either propofol 1 mg kg(-1) min(-1) or isoflurane 3% (both of which have been shown to reliably produce EEG b urst suppression). After a further 30 min, reperfusion was induced by withdrawing the filament. Animals were killed following 240 min of rep erfusion. Rats in the propofol group showed a 21% reduction in mean he mispheric infarct volume when compared with the isoflurane group (P<0. 0001). These data suggest that propofol may act by mechanisms in addit ion to CMRO2 depression, and provide a basis for further studies of pr opofol neuroprotection.