A. N. Belozersky Research Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology MSU
Studies on rats have demonstrated that successive threefold 30-min sessions of inhalation of an argon-oxygen mixture (Ar 70%/O<sub>2</sub> 30%) immediately after and on days 2 and 3 after ischemic stroke reduce neurological deficit, the area of vWF<sup>+</sup> staining in brain sections, and the number of Iba-1<sup>+</sup> and Cas-3<sup>+</sup> cells in the lesion focus and NeuN<sup>+</sup> cells in the penumbra. However, no differences in the lesion volume were detected by MRI. Argon-oxygen inhalations reduced neurological deficits through their influence on reparative processes within the lesion site.