Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, a Possible New Approach in the Treatment of Retinal Damage in Methanol Poisoning in Rats

Abstract

It has been established that peroxidation, inflammatory processes, and organ damage are involved in the pathogenesis of methanol intoxication. Research has shown that using hyperbaric oxygen reduces oxidative stress, inflammation, and tissue damage. In this research, it was investigated how hyperbaric oxygen therapy affected methanol-induced peroxidation and retinal damage in rats. The animals were classified into six categories (n = 8): control group (C), nitrous oxide (N2O) treated group, hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) treated group, methanol (MeOH) treated group, N2O+methanol treated group (N2O+MeOH) and N2O+methanol+hyperbaric oxygen (N2O+MeOH+HBO) treated group. Folate deficiency was started with N2O, four hours before the starting dose (4g/kg) of methanol. The rats were given a methanol maintenance dose (2g/kg, i.p) 24h and 48h after the starting dose. After each methanol administration, rats were given HBO (2 ATA) for 1 hour. Methanol intoxication decreased plasma folic acid levels while increasing formate levels and oxidative stress index and it caused a decrease in the amount of the retinal ganglion cells and thinned the total retinal thickness in folate-deficient mice. HBO treatment reduced the oxidative stress index but did not adequately improve retinal healing. Our findings indicate that the HBO treatment used to treat retinal damage in methanol poisoning was ineffective. However, increasing the duration of HBO therapy may be effective in preventing methanol-induced retinal damage