BioMed Central launches Medical Gas Research this week, a new open-access journal led by Editor-in-Chief John Zhang.

Medical gases are used in a variety of multidisciplinary fields of clinical practice such as diving medicine, anesthesiology, emergency medicine, hyperbaric oxygen medicine as well as basic science research fields including biochemistry and neuroscience. As Professor Zhang explains in his launch editorial, Medical Gas Research provides a platform encompassing all aspects of this research, from basic science to the clinical applications of medical gas research, with particular focus on the neurobiological effects of related disorders.

Among the other articles published at launch include original research by Dong et al. on the role of the anesthetic component isoflurane and its potential effect on the neuropathogenesis leading to Alzheimer’s disease and the article by Haelewyn et al. showcases novel research in oxygen therapy for acute ischemic stroke. Haelewyn et al. conclude that normobaric oxygen treatment could be used to prevent further neuronal degeneration through reduced excitotoxin-induced calcium levels, provided treatment was discontinued before reperfusion.

The use of hyperbaric oxygen for stroke treatment is still a controversial current opinion as the feature editorial by Toole describes, and while oxygen is routinely used for treatment of cardio-pulmonary disorders, it is not currently standardized treatment for acute stroke. Further research is clearly needed for this debate, and Medical Gas Research aims to objectively publish related articles.

For more information visit the journal website or sign up for article updates.