Regional Cerebral Blood Flows in Endotoxin Shock with Methylprednisolone Treatment

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Abstract
It was previously shown that total and regional cerebral blood flows are severely decreased during endotoxin shock. The effects of methylprednisolone and volume expansion therapy on the regional cerebral blood flows during endotoxin shock in anesthetized dogs are described. Methylprednisolone (Solu-Medrol; 30 mg/kg) was injected i.v. 15 min prior to infusion of Escherichia coli endotoxin (1 mg/kg) and hourly (.simeq. 8 mg/kg) for 4 h of shock. Regional cerebral blood flows were determined using the radioactive-labeled particle distribution technique. In contrast to untreated dogs, treated dogs exhibited no change or an increased blood flow in 7 regions of the brain at 2 h of shock; blood flows in the pons, medulla, hypothalamus, thalamus and pituitary were not significantly different than control at 4 h of shock. Pretreatment with methylprednisolone, combined with supplemental doses and volume expanders, may protect the cerebral circulation during endotoxin shock.