The effect of an α-2 receptor antagonist, idazoxan, on ischemic neuronal damage in the hippocampus and neocortex was studied in rats following 10 min of forebrain ischemia. Idazoxan was given 0.1 mg/kg i.v. immediately after recirculation, followed by 48 h of continuous infusion at a rate of 10 μg/kg/min. A histopathological examination of the CA1 region of the dorsal hippocampus and neocortex fro

The excitatory amino acid glutamate has been suggested to be an important mediator of the selective CA1 hippocampal damage which follows transient cerebral ischemia. In order to evaluate the possible involvement of altered glutamate receptor regulation in the expression of the delayed neuronal necrosis following ischemia, we have determined the density of glutamate receptor subtypes in the rat hip

Abstract The glutamate (Glu) terminals in rat neostriatum were removed by a unilateral frontal decortication. One to two weeks later the effects of insulin‐induced hypoglycemia on the steady‐state levels of amino acids [Glu, glutamine (Gin), aspartate (Asp), γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA), tau‐rine] and energy metabolites (glucose, glycogen, α‐ketoglu‐tarate, pyruvate, lactate, ATP, ADP, AMP, phosphoc

In search of factors influencing the outcome of an ischemic insult, we induced 10 min of forebrain ischemia in rats and assessed neuronal necrosis by quantitative histopathology after 1 week of recovery. Procedures for inducing ischemia included bilateral carotid artery clamping and reduction of blood pressure to 40–50 mm Hg by bleeding. To facilitate rapid lowering of blood pressure, a ganglionic

Abstract The concentrations of free fatty acids (FFAs) in the neostriatum of control rats and rats subjected to unilateral cortical ablation were measured during and following severe insulin‐induced hypoglycemia. The total FFA concentration in the caudate nucleus contralateral to the lesion increased to approximately 1.5 and 3 times the control level after 5 and 30 min of isoelectricity, respectiv

The protective effect of the α2-receptor antagonist idazoxan against neuronal damage in the neocortex and in the hippocampal CA1 region was studied in rats exposed to 10 min of incomplete forebrain ischemia. When administered i.v. immediately after ischemia (0.1 mg/kg) and subsequently for 6 h (10 μg/kg/min), idazoxan significantly reduced neuronal damage in the hippocampus (from 84 to 26%) and in

The subcellular distribution of PKC(α) and PKC(γ) was studied in homogenates of cerebral cortex from rats subjected to 10 and 15 min of ischemia and 15 min of ischemia followed by 1 h, 6 h, 24 h, 48 h, and 7 days of reperfusion. During ischemia no significant changes in the levels of PKC (α) were seen. During the first hour of reperfusion, a transient 2.5-fold (P < 0.05) increase in PKC(α) levels

Changes in the levels of arachidonic acid during ischemia in selectively vulnerable areas of the hippocampus were studied in the rat brain. Since neurons in the CA1 region are more vulnerable to ischemia than neurons in the adjacent CA3 region, the release of arachidonic acid in these two regions was measured during decapitation ischemia of 4- to 12-min duration. The concentration of free arachido

The present study was undertaken to correlate calcium accumulation with the development of neuronal necrosis following transient ischemia. After 10 min of forebrain ischemia in the rat—a period that leads to reproducible damage of CA1 pyramidal cells—determination of calcium concentration and evaluation of morphological signs of cell body necrosis in the dorsal hippocampus were performed at variou

The effects of flunarizine, a calcium entry blocker, were evaluated in a long-term survival model of ischemia in rats. One group of animals received the drug orally at 24 and 4 h prior to the insult (40 mg·kg-1·dose-1). Another group was given flunarizine following the insult, intravenously at 5 min (0.1 mg·kg-1), and orally at 8 and 24 h (40 mg·kg-1·dose-1). A third group received the solvent for

The effect of deep isoflurane anesthesia on ischemically induced neuronal damage was evaluated in the rat. Sixteen mechanically ventilated animals were maintained normocapnic and normothermic while subjected to a near complete forebrain ischemia insult induced with systemic hypotension (MAP = 50± mmHg) and bilateral carotid artery occlusion. Prior to ischemia, eight of the rats received isoflurane

This study addresses the question of whether the cyclooxygenase inhibitors indomethacin and diclofenac and the glucocorticosteroid dexamethasone ameliorate neuronal necrosis following cerebral ischemia. In addition, since these drugs inhibit the production of prostaglandins and depress phospholipase A2 activity, respectively, the importance of free fatty acids (FFAs) on the development of ischemic

In this chapter, the pathophysiology and neurochemical pathology of epileptic brain damage is discussed on the basis of an integrative approach in which a comparison is made to cell necrosis resulting from ischemia and hypoglycemia. Two main questions are asked. First, is the brain damage resulting from these three disorders of cerebral energy metabolism similar in distribution and structural char

The possibility that neuronal damage due to hypoglycemia is induced by agonists acting on the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor was investigated in the rat caudate nucleus. Local injections of an NMDA receptor antagonist, 2-amino-7-phosphonoheptanoic acid, were performed before induction of 30 minutes of reversible, insulin-induced, hypoglycemic coma. Neuronal necrosis in these animals after 1

Extracellular levels of striatal γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and taurine were monitored during insulin-induced hypoglycemia using microdialysis. At the onset of isoelectricity in the electroencephalogram (EEG), a transient 5-fold increase in the levels of GABA occurred. Taurine levels increased 5 min following the onset of isoelectricity and continued to increase during the entire isoelectric perio

Rats were exposed to insulin-induced hypoglycemia resulting in periods of cerebral isoelectricity ranging from 10 to 60 min. After recovery with glucose, they were allowed to wake up and survive for 1 week. Control rats were recovered at the stage of EEG slowing. After sub-serial sectioning, the number and distribution of dying neurons was assessed in each brain region. Acid fuchsin was found to s