Timing of Oxygen After a Stroke May Matter
MONDAY, Oct. 19 (HealthDay News) -- Contradicting previous research, scientists have shown in animal studies that providing supplemental oxygen during an ischemic stroke can reduce brain damage.
But it's not a simple matter. Success in preventing brain damage, their new study says, depends on when 100 percent oxygen is given.
"The use of supplemental oxygen after blood flow is restored in the brain appears to actually cause harm by unleashing free radicals," Savita Khanna, an assistant professor of surgery at Ohio State University and principal investigator of the new study, said in a university news release. "The resulting tissue damage was worse than stroke-affected tissue that received no treatment at all."
The findings were scheduled to be presented Oct. 19 at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in Chicago.
According to the study authors, earlier research in people suggested that administration of oxygen actually could hurt those who'd had a stroke. But Khanna said it's crucial to consider the status of blood flow through the brain when someone is given oxygen.
The researchers looked at ischemic strokes, in which a blockage stops blood flow in the brain.
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