Chenxi Dai1, Gang Chen1, Bihua Chen1, Juan Wang2, Changlin Yin2, Jianjie Wang1, Yushun Gong1, Liang Wei1, Yuanyuan Huang3, Yongqin Li4. 1. School of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Medicine, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China. 2. Department of Emergency, Southwest Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China. 3. Department of Neurology, Southwest Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China. 4. School of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Medicine, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China. Electronic address: lyq@tmmu.edu.cn.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) modulates neuronal activity and is a potential therapeutic tool for many neurological diseases. However, its beneficial effects on post cardiac arrest syndrome remains uncertain. OBJECTIVE/HYPOTHESIS: We investigated the effects of repetitive anodal tDCS on neurological outcome and survival in a ventricular fibrillation (VF) cardiac arrest rat model. METHODS: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was initiated after 6 min of VF in 36 Sprague-Dawley rats. The animals were randomized into three groups immediately after resuscitation (n = 12 each): no-treatment control (NTC) group, targeted temperature management (TTM) group, and tDCS group. For tDCS, 1 mA anodal tDCS was applied on the dorsal scalp for 0.5 h. The stimulation was repeated for four sessions with 1-h resting interval under normothermia. Post-resuscitation hemodynamic, cerebral, and myocardial injuries, 96-h neurological outcome, and survival were evaluated. RESULTS: Compared with the NTC group, post-resuscitation serum astroglial protein S100 beta and cardiac troponin T levels and 96-h neuronal and myocardial damage scores were markedly reduced in the tDCS and TTM groups. Myocardial ejection fraction, neurological deficit score, and 96-h survival rate were also significantly better for the tDCS and TTM groups. The period of post-resuscitation arrhythmia with hemodynamic instability was considerably shorter in the tDCS group, but no differences were observed in neurological outcome and survival between the tDCS and TTM groups. CONCLUSIONS: In this cardiac arrest rat model, repeated anodal tDCS commenced after resuscitation improves 96-h neurological outcome and survival to an extent comparable to TTM by attenuating post-resuscitation cerebral and cardiac injuries.
BACKGROUND: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) modulates neuronal activity and is a potential therapeutic tool for many neurological diseases. However, its beneficial effects on post cardiac arrest syndrome remains uncertain. OBJECTIVE/HYPOTHESIS: We investigated the effects of repetitive anodal tDCS on neurological outcome and survival in a ventricular fibrillation (VF) cardiac arrestrat model. METHODS: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was initiated after 6 min of VF in 36 Sprague-Dawley rats. The animals were randomized into three groups immediately after resuscitation (n = 12 each): no-treatment control (NTC) group, targeted temperature management (TTM) group, and tDCS group. For tDCS, 1 mA anodal tDCS was applied on the dorsal scalp for 0.5 h. The stimulation was repeated for four sessions with 1-h resting interval under normothermia. Post-resuscitation hemodynamic, cerebral, and myocardial injuries, 96-h neurological outcome, and survival were evaluated. RESULTS: Compared with the NTC group, post-resuscitation serum astroglial protein S100 beta and cardiac troponin T levels and 96-h neuronal and myocardial damage scores were markedly reduced in the tDCS and TTM groups. Myocardial ejection fraction, neurological deficit score, and 96-h survival rate were also significantly better for the tDCS and TTM groups. The period of post-resuscitation arrhythmia with hemodynamic instability was considerably shorter in the tDCS group, but no differences were observed in neurological outcome and survival between the tDCS and TTM groups. CONCLUSIONS: In this cardiac arrestrat model, repeated anodal tDCS commenced after resuscitation improves 96-h neurological outcome and survival to an extent comparable to TTM by attenuating post-resuscitation cerebral and cardiac injuries.