Anesthesiology Research Laboratory (specializing in experimental stroke)

Stephen C. Jones, PhD

The objectives of the laboratory concern experimental focal cerebral ischemia and its relation to cerebral blood flow - arterial blood pressure autoregulation, the involvement of endothelial nitric oxide synthase in cerebral blood flow - arterial blood pressure autoregulation, and the use of brain tissue sodium in the diagnosis of ischemic stroke. These objectives deal with the (1) understanding, (2) diagnosis, and (3) treatment of stroke. From the basic science perspective, the strengths of the laboratory include the knowledge and ability to develop, evaluate, and utilize techniques for cerebral blood flow and other measurements of cerebral physiology, including those relating to magnetic resonance imaging. Several areas have been especially important for the laboratory: that nitric oxide synthase inhibition administered by cortical superfusion raises the lower limit of cerebral blood flow - arterial blood pressure autoregulation, that the shape of the cerebral blood flow - blood pressure autoregulation curve during moderate hypertension has extensive vertical variations (as opposed to horizontal variation of the limit lower), and that brain tissue sodium might provide a ticking clock to tell the time from stroke onset.

We are currently exploring: 1) the role of cortical brain eNOS in cerebral blood flow autoregulation using laser speckle imaging; and 2) the brain potassium and blood-brain barrier dynamics during the initial hours after stroke using histochemical and MRI methods.