Studies have indicated that mild to moderate hypothermia or dexmedetomidine may have neuroprotective properties in animal models. In this study, we investigated the effects of hypothermia on dexmedetomidine-induced responses in cerebral vessels in anesthetized rabbits by using the cranial-window preparation. After instrumentation under pentobarbital anesthesia, 12 rabbits were assigned to 1 of 2 equal groups: normothermic (nasopharyngeal and intrawindow temperature, 38.5 degrees C-39.5 degrees C) or hypothermic (33.0 degrees C-34.0 degrees C). Each rabbit received three different concentrations (10(-7), 10(-5), and 10(-3) M) of dexmedetomidine under the window, and cerebral pial vessel diameters were measured in a sequential manner. In the normothermic group, dexmedetomidine induced a significant concentration-dependent dilation in both large and small arterioles. In the hypothermia group, dexmedetomidine produced a U-shaped dose-response in both large and small cerebral arterioles (concentration-related vasoconstriction at 10(-7) and 10(-5) M, but vasodilation at 10(-3) M). In cerebral venules, a similar pattern of results was obtained, but changes were generally smaller than in arterioles. In conclusion, topically applied dexmedetomidine induces concentration-dependent dilation in cerebral arterioles in normothermic rabbits anesthetized with pentobarbital, but mild to moderate hypothermia attenuates these responses, with smaller dexmedetomidine concentrations causing vasoconstriction.
Implications: In normothermic rabbits anesthetized with pentobarbital, topically applied dexmedetomidine induces a concentration-dependent dilation in both large and small cerebral arterioles, but mild to moderate hypothermia attenuates these responses.