Objective:To explore the effect in terms of oxidative stress of combining hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy with arterial thrombolysis in treating acute ischemic stroke.Methods:A total of 166 ischemic stroke survivors were divided into a 0.15MPa group (41 cases), a 0.2MPa group (42 cases), a 0.25MPa group (40 cases), and a 0.3MPa group (43 cases), using a random number table. All received arterial thrombolysis and HBO therapy at the relevant pressure for 14 days. Before and after the treatment, all were assessed using the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), and in terms of serum levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) using the thiobarbituric acid method. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) was quantified by the SOD substrate method. Total antioxidant capacity (TAC) was assayed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) was quantified by immunofluorescence and chemiluminescence, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) by chemiluminescence immunoassay.Results:After the treatment there was a significant increase in all of the groups′ average NIHSS scores, but with that of the 0.15MPa group significantly higher than the other 3 groups′ averages. The average MDA, SOD, TAC, IL-1β and TNF-α levels of all of the groups had also improved, especially the average MDA score, SOD level, TAC level, IL-1β level and TNF-α level of the 0.2MPa group. In the 0.25MPa group, the average MDA, SOD, TAC, IL-1β level and TNF-α levels had also improved significantly. There was, however, no significant difference in these measurements between the 0.2 and 0.25MPa groups.Conclusions:HBO combined with arterial thrombolysis can improve neurological functioning, regulate oxidative stress, and reduce inflammatory responses in acute ischemic stroke. The best results are at an HBO pressure of 0.2 or 0.25MPa.

Objective:To explore the effect in terms of oxidative stress of combining hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy with arterial thrombolysis in treating acute ischemic stroke.Methods:A total of 166 ischemic stroke survivors were divided into a 0.15MPa group (41 cases), a 0.2MPa group (42 cases), a 0.25MPa group (40 cases), and a 0.3MPa group (43 cases), using a random number table. All received arterial thrombolysis and HBO therapy at the relevant pressure for 14 days. Before and after the treatment, all were assessed using the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), and in terms of serum levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) using the thiobarbituric acid method. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) was quantified by the SOD substrate method. Total antioxidant capacity (TAC) was assayed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) was quantified by immunofluorescence and chemiluminescence, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) by chemiluminescence immunoassay.Results:After the treatment there was a significant increase in all of the groups′ average NIHSS scores, but with that of the 0.15MPa group significantly higher than the other 3 groups′ averages. The average MDA, SOD, TAC, IL-1β and TNF-α levels of all of the groups had also improved, especially the average MDA score, SOD level, TAC level, IL-1β level and TNF-α level of the 0.2MPa group. In the 0.25MPa group, the average MDA, SOD, TAC, IL-1β level and TNF-α levels had also improved significantly. There was, however, no significant difference in these measurements between the 0.2 and 0.25MPa groups.Conclusions:HBO combined with arterial thrombolysis can improve neurological functioning, regulate oxidative stress, and reduce inflammatory responses in acute ischemic stroke. The best results are at an HBO pressure of 0.2 or 0.25MPa.