title: Methylene blue and normobaric hyperoxia combination therapy in experimental ischemic stroke.
abstract: Ischemic stroke is a global burden that contributes to the disability and mortality of millions of patients. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of combined MB (methylene blue) and NBO (normobaric hyperoxia) therapy in experimental ischemic stroke.
  
  
  
  Rats with transient (60 min) MCAO (middle cerebral artery occlusion) were treated with: (1) air + vehicle (N = 8), (2) air + MB (N = 8), (3) NBO + vehicle (N = 7), and (4) NBO + MB (N = 9). MB (1 mg/kg) was administered at 30 min, again on days 2, 7, and 14 after stroke. NBO was given during MRI (30-150 min) on day 0, and again 1 h each during MRI on subsequent days. Serial diffusion, perfusion and T2 MRI were performed to evaluate lesion volumes. Foot-fault and cylinder tests were performed to evaluate sensorimotor function.
  
  
  
  The major findings were: (1) NBO + MB therapy showed a greater decrease in infarct volume compared to NBO alone, but similar infarct volume compared to MB alone, (2) NBO + MB therapy accelerated sensorimotor functional recovery compared to NBO or MB alone, (3) Infarct volumes on day 2 did not change significantly from those on day 28 for all four groups, but behavioral function continued to show improved recovery in the NBO + MB group.
  
  
  
  These findings support the hypothesis that combined NBO + MB further improves functional outcome and reduces infarct volume compared to either treatment alone and these improvements extended up to 28 days.
authors.affiliation: Research Imaging Institute University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio Texas; Department of Radiology University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio Texas.
authors.forename: Pavel
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
authors.affiliation: Research Imaging Institute University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio Texas; Department of Anatomy and Embryology Peking University Health Science Center Beijing China.
authors.forename: Jiang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Research Imaging Institute University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio Texas.
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Milman
authors.affiliation: Research Imaging Institute University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio Texas; Department of Biomedical Engineering University of Texas San Antonio Texas.
authors.forename: Yash Vardhan
authors.initials: YV
authors.lastname: Tiwari
authors.affiliation: Research Imaging Institute University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio Texas.
authors.forename: Timothy Q
authors.initials: TQ
authors.lastname: Duong
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D056228:Feedback, Sensory / Q000502:physiology; D018496:Hyperoxia; D020244:Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008751:Methylene Blue / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010102:Oxygen Inhalation Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D008751:Methylene Blue
keywords: Cerebral ischemia; combination therapy; methylene blue; normobaric hyperoxia; stroke