Therapeutic effect of tPA in ischemic stroke is enhanced by its combination with normobaric oxygen and hypothermia or ethanol.

Background And Purpose: Our lab has previously elucidated the neuroprotective effects of normobaric oxygen (NBO) and ethanol (EtOH) in ischemic stroke. The present study further evaluated the effect of EtOH or hypothermia (Hypo) in the presence of low concentration of NBO and determined whether EtOH can substitute hypothermia in a more clinically relevant autologous embolus rat stroke model in which reperfusion was established by tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA).

Methods: At 1h of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) by an autologous embolus, rats received t-PA.