Efficacy of a blood substitute (Fluosol-DA, 20%) on cerebral ischemia.

Fluosol-DA, 20%, was intravenously infused in 28 patients suffering from cerebrovascular disease, and was found to be effective in 60% of the cases with vasospasm and in 80% of the cases with stenosis and/or occlusion of the artery. Administration of the solution increases r-CBF by 10.1 to 37.9% when measured by either intra-arterial injection or inhalation of 133Xe. However, an increase of arterial oxygen tension appears to have little effect on r-CBF after administration of the solution. The increase of r-CBF caused by Fluosol-DA, 20%, may be due not only to the lowering viscosity of the mixed blood but also to its direct effect on dilating cerebral vessels.