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Background and Purpose: Mechanisms of ischemia/reperfusion brain injury include altered patterns of energy metabolism that may be amenable to pharmacological manipulation. The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of postischemic acetyl-L-carnitine administration on potentiation of metabolic recovery and prevention of neurological morbidity in a clinically relevant model of complete, global cerebral ischemia and reperfusion.Methods: Neurological deficit scoring as well as spectrophotometric and fluorescent assays of frontal cortex lactate and pyruvate levels were used in a canine model employing 10 minutes of cardiac arrest followed by restoration of spontaneous circulation for 2 or 24 hours.Results: Dogs treated with acetyl-L-carnitine exhibited significantly lower neurological deficit scores (p=0.0037) and more normal cerebral cortex lactate/pyruvate ratios than did vehicle-treated control animals.Conclusions

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