Abstract
Xenon is a medical gas capable of establishing neuroprotection, inducing anesthesia as well as serving in modern laser technology and nuclear medicine as a contrast agent. In spite of its high cost, its lack of side effects, safe cardiovascular and organoprotective profile and effective neuroprotective role after hypoxic-ischemic injury (HI) favor its applications in clinics. Xenon performs its anesthetic and neuroprotective functions through binding to glycine site of glutamatergic N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor competitively and blocking it. This blockage inhibits the overstimulation of NMDA receptors, thus preventing their following downstream calcium accumulating cascades. Xenon is also used in combination therapies together with hypothermia or sevoflurane. The neuroprotective effects of xenon and hypothermia cooperate synergistically whether they are applied synchronously or asynchronously. Distinguishing properties of Xenon promise for innovations in medical gas field once further studies are fulfilled and Xenon’s high cost is overcome.
Highlights
Medical gases have a wide scope of applications in medical area
Reduction in lactate dehydrogenase release proves that Xenon reduces Oxygen glucose deprivation (OGD) induced neuronal cell death at subanesthetic concentrations [1,61]
Conclusion and further studies Xenon has a bright future in medicine due to its noticeable advantages over other anesthetic agents
Summary
Medical gases have a wide scope of applications in medical area. In the field of medicine, medical gases are used for many practices such as anesthesiology, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, neuroprotection and hypothermia [1]. Helium which has the second highest prevalence in the universe [1] has therapeutic effects on arrthymia [8] and inflammation [9,10], and has myocardioprotective role [1,11] Argon, another noble gas has been used as anesthetic and neuroprotective agent [12]. Having the chemical properties of noble gases, Xenon cannot form covalent bonds with other molecules It can still have binding action via van der Waals forces. It has been indicated that Xenon has a higher efficacy in cortex rather than subcortex due to the difference in vascularity and in density of NMDA receptors in two distinct layers of cerebrum [45] Another beneficial property of Xenon is its non-toxic chemical characteristic which enables the usage of the gas on neonates.
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