Effects of halothane, alpha-chloralose, and pCO2 on injury volume and CSF beta-endorphin levels in focal cerebral ischemia.

Overview

Anesthetic agent, arterial pCO2 level, and opioid peptides have all been implicated in the pathophysiology of experimental stroke models. The effects of halothane, alpha-chloralose, and differing concentrations of arterial pCO2 on injury volume and CSF beta-endorphin levels were studied in a feline model of experimental focal cerebral ischemia. The type of anesthetic agent used had no effect on injury volume following 6 h of focal cerebral ischemia. Over a 6-h period, beta-endorphin levels significantly increased from 10.1 +/- 5.0 fmol/mL at zero time to 14.4 +/- 7.2 fmol/mL at 6 h under halothane anesthesia (p < 0.05), whereas they did not significantly change (10.1 +/- 6.7 to 7.8 +/- 4.7 fmol/mL) under alpha-chloralose anesthesia. In contrast, hypercapnia had no effect on beta-endorphin levels, but significantly increased injury volume from 30.6 +/- 5.7% of the ipsilateral hemisphere under normocapnic conditions to 37.1 +/- 5.9% under hypercapnic conditions (p < 0.05). These results suggest that hypercapnia increases injury volume in a feline model of focal cerebral ischemia, and pCO2 should be controlled in experimental focal cerebral ischemia models.