title: Argon: systematic review on neuro- and organoprotective properties of an "inert" gas.
abstract: Argon belongs to the group of noble gases, which are regarded as chemically inert. Astonishingly some of these gases exert biological properties and during the last decades more and more reports demonstrated neuroprotective and organoprotective effects. Recent studies predominately use in vivo or in vitro models for ischemic pathologies to investigate the effect of argon treatment. Promising data has been published concerning pathologies like cerebral ischemia, traumatic brain injury and hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy. However, models applied and administration of the therapeutic gas vary. Here we provide a systematic review to summarize the available data on argon's neuro- and organoprotective effects and discuss its possible mechanism of action. We aim to provide a summary to allow further studies with a more homogeneous setting to investigate possible clinical applications of argon.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, University RWTH Aachen, 52074 Aachen, Germany. ahoellig@ukaachen.de.
authors.forename: Anke
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Höllig
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, University RWTH Aachen, 52074 Aachen, Germany. anschug@ukaachen.de.
authors.forename: Anita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schug
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, University RWTH Aachen, 52074 Aachen, Germany. afahlenkamp@ukaachen.de.
authors.forename: Astrid V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Fahlenkamp
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, University RWTH Aachen, 52074 Aachen, Germany. rrosaint@ukaachen.de.
authors.forename: Rolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rossaint
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, University RWTH Aachen, 52074 Aachen, Germany. mcoburn@ukaachen.de.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Coburn
authors.affiliation: .
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001128:Argon / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D001128:Argon