Noble gas neuroprotection: xenon and argon protect against hypoxic-ischaemic injury in rat hippocampus in vitro via distinct mechanisms.

Background: Noble gases may provide novel treatments for neurological injuries such as ischaemic and traumatic brain injury. Few studies have evaluated the complete series of noble gases under identical conditions in the same model.

Methods: We used an in vitro model of hypoxia-ischaemia to evaluate the neuroprotective properties of the series of noble gases, helium, neon, argon, krypton, and xenon.