VIDEODENSITOMETRIC ESTIMATION OF THE PROTECTIVE EFFECT OF HYPERBARIC-OXYGEN IN THE ISCHEMIC GERBIL BRAIN

To verify its protective effect on the ischemic mammalian brain, hyperbaric O2 was administered to 6 groups of carotid-ligated gerbils. The outcome was evaluted clinically and by a colorimetric videodensitometry technique by comparing differences in the interhemispheric color density through the translucent intact cranium. There was a graded decrease in interhemispheric differences with increasing exposure to hyperbaric O2 (the appearance of the ischemic hemisphere increasingly approached that of normal brain). This correlated with the incidence of ischemia in each group.