[Experimental study of barbiturate application following anoxic encephalopathy]

The protective effect of thiopental on neurological lesions provoked by cerebral anoxie was studied in the monkey. Cerebral ischemia was induced by a cervical tourniquet applied for a period of 16 minutes. A control series of 10 animals received only the normal resuscitation. A series of 27 monkeys received either 90 mg/kg of thiopental at 5, 10, 15, 30 or 60 minutes following ischemia, or 120 mg/kg at the 30th or 60th minute. One third of the dose was administered within 5 minutes and the rest during the following 55 minutes. The results shows that the prevention, by thiopental, of the clinical and histological lesion secondary to cerebral anoxia is effective when this drug is administered before the 15th minute. With 90 mg/kg administered at the 30th or 60th minute the improvement was slight: with 120 mg/kg it was greater if the injection was given at the 60th rather than at the 30th minute. These results, along with the mechanisms which may explain the action of thiopental, are discussed.