Abstract Interruption of cerebral blood flow during hypothermic circulatory arrest (HCA) predisposes neurons to glutamate excitotoxicity. Reperfusion is followed by leukocyte infiltration, which results in an inflammatory reaction in the brain tissue. In the first study, the presynaptic glutamate release inhibitor lamotrigine (L) and the leukocyte-depleting filter (LF) were studied to determine if their combination could mitigate brain injury after HCA (I). The aim of the second study was to evaluate the possible neuroprotective effect of a 14-hour period of mild (32°C) hypothermia after HCA (II). Recent experimental research has demonstrated the neuroprotective properties of erythropoietin (EPO) and fructose-1,6-bisphosphate (FDP), whose effects during and after HCA were evaluated in the third and the fourth studies (III, IV).

A chronic porcine model was used. The animals were randomly assigned to the study groups as follows: 8 animals in the L+LF group, 8 in the L group, and 8 in the control group (I); 10 animals in the hypothermia group and 10 in the normothermia group (II); 10 animals in the EPO group and 10 in the control group (III), and 12 animals in the FDP group and 12 in the control group (IV). Monitoring of hemodynamics, metabolism, temperature, electroencephalogram (EEG), brain microdialysis, intracranial pressure (II-IV), and brain tissue oxygen (II-IV) was carried out. A daily behavioral assessment was performed until death or until elective sacrifice on the seventh postoperative day, after which the brain was prepared for a histopathologic examination.

The results of these studies indicate that lamotrigine has a neuroprotective effect during HCA. This is observed in terms of EEG burst recovery, behavioral and histopathologic outcome, and brain microdialytic findings. The combined use of lamotrigine and leukocyte filtration may further improve survival. A 14-hour period of mild hypothermia after HCA is associated with a poor outcome. However, it may preserve its efficacy when used for no longer than 4 hours. Administration of EPO before HCA proved ineffective in reducing mortality or brain histopathologic injury. Findings from brain microdialysis, brain tissue oxygen tension, and neuronal apoptosis, however, suggest that the drug has neuroprotective properties. Administration of FDP before and after HCA is associated with better survival, behavioral outcome, and brain histopathologic scores. The metabolic and brain microdialytic findings also suggest that this drug has supportive effects on myocardial and brain metabolism.