Perfluorocarbon NVX-108 increased cerebral oxygen tension after traumatic brain injury in rats

Background: Hypoxia is a critical secondary injury mechanism in traumatic brain injury (TBI), and early intervention to alleviate post-TBI hypoxia may be beneficial. NVX-108, a dodecafluoropentane perfluorocarbon, was screened for its ability to increase brain tissue oxygen tension (PbtO(2)) when administered soon after TBI. Methods: Ketamine-acepromazine anesthetized rats ventilated with 40% oxygen underwent moderate controlled cortical impact (CCI)-TBI at time O (TO). Rats received either no treatment (NON, n=8) or 0.5 ml/kg intravenous (IV) NVX-108 (NVX, n=9) at T15 (15 min after TBI) and T75. Results: Baseline cortical PbtO(2) was 28+3 mm Hg and CCI-TBI resulted in a 46+6% reduction in PbtO(2) at T15 (P <0.001). Significant differences in time-group interactions (P=0.013) were found when comparing either absolute or percentage change of PbtO(2) to post-injury (mixed-model ANOVA) suggesting that administration of NVX-108 increased PbtO(2) above injury levels while it remained depressed in the NON group. Specifically in the NVX group, PbtO(2) increased to a peak 143% of T15 (P=0.02) 60 min after completion of NVX-108 injection (T135). Systemic blood pressure was not different between the groups. Conclusion: NVX-108 caused an increase in PbtO(2) following CCI-TBI in rats and should be evaluated further as a possible immediate treatment for TBI. Published by Elsevier B.V.