title: Effects of isoflurane on glutamate and taurine releases, brain swelling and injury during transient ischemia and reperfusion.
abstract: The volatile anesthetic agent isoflurane was thought to provide neuroprotection against ischemic damage; however, this effect remains controversial. Using the middle cerebral artery occlusion model and intracerebral microdialysis, the authors monitored the variations of glutamate and taurine concentrations in the extra-cellular space in male rats anesthetized with pentobarbital or isoflurane. Brain injury and edema were evaluated 24 h after ischemia. Isoflurane prevented the ischemia-induced efflux of glutamate and reduced the release of taurine. No difference in the size of the brain lesions was observed with both anesthetics, and isoflurane induced the formation of a bigger brain edema and reduced taurine release. These results suggest that inhibiting glutamate release during ischemia may not be sufficient to improve brain outcome after transient ischemia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Research, Neurosurgery Laboratory, University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland. Marie-Francoise.Ritz@unibas.ch
authors.forename: Marie-Françoise
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Ritz
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: Aminadav
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mendelowitsch
mesh_terms: D000777:Anesthetics / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D001929:Brain Edema / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000378:metabolism*; D002546:Ischemic Attack, Transient / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D007530:Isoflurane / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010424:Pentobarbital / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D015424:Reperfusion; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013654:Taurine / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000777:Anesthetics; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D013654:Taurine; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D007530:Isoflurane; D010424:Pentobarbital