Experimental study on brain oxygenation in relation to tissue water redistribution and brain oedema

The aim of the present experimental research was to study brain oxygenation parameters in relation to tissue water movement and brain cortex oedema caused by focal brain ischemia. It has been demonstrated that local osmotic dehydration of the parietal brain cortex, mercury compounds (aquaporin inhibitors) and brain cortex oedema resulting from focal brain ischemia all influence extra-capillary oxygen transport lowering tissue respiration rates and oxygen transfer coefficients. The changes of brain oxygenation parameters in case of cortex ischemic oedema are reflected in the gas composition (oxygen and carbon dioxide partial pressure) of the blood in v. jugularis. A short course of hyperbaric treatment results in normalization of water content in the brain. The results are interpreted in terms of the functioning of tissue microcirculation that might participate, at the extra-capillary level, in brain oxygenation.