Sevoflurane and Halothane Reduce Focal Ischemic Brain Damage in the Rat

Abstract

Both halothane and sevoflurane substantially reduced damage in this focal ischemia model when compared to outcome resulting from the same insult induced in awake rats. The reduction in intraischemic mean arterial pressure caused by the anesthetics did not seem contributory to outcome. Brain temperature differences among the groups were not defined. Because small differences in pericranial temperature were shown to have major effects on outcome, further work is required to determine if differences in brain temperature explain the observed protective effects of these anesthetics.