Shiliang Huang1,
Fang Du2, Yen-Yu Ian Shih2, 3, Qiang Shen2,
Francisco Gonzalez-Lima4, Timothy O. Duong2
1University
of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United
States; 2UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX,
United States; 3University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,
Chapel Hill, NC, United States; 4The University of Texas at
Austin, Austin, TX, United States
Methylene blue (MB) at low doses has metabolic-enhancing and antioxidant properties and exhibits experimental neurotherapeutic benefits, but little is known about its in vivo effects on cerebral blood flow (CBF) and cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen consumption (CMRO2). We previously reported that MB (0.5 mg/kg) potentiated evoked BOLD, CBF and CMRO2 changes in rat brain under normoxia. This study further evaluated the effects of MB under stress condition (mild hypoxia: 15% O2). We found that MB further potentiated fMRI responses under mild hypoxia relative to air. These findings have implications in neurological conditions with mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress.