Proton Microprobe and Particle Induced X-Ray Emission (PIXE) Analysis for Studies of Pathological Brain Tissue

Particle Indiced X-ray Emission and proton microprobe analyses have been applied for the investigation of regional elemental distributions in connection with various pathological states in the brain. Malignant brain tumours and adjacent histologically intact tissue removed during surgery were analysed with PIXE. Systematic elemental variations, e.g., for calcium and selenium, were observed in the tumour front. The proton microprobe was applied to study the Ca and K concentrations in various cell strata in hippocampus following transient ischaemia in rat brain. Significant increases in the Ca level occurred in selectively vulnerable cells within 48 h after the ischaemia

Computational modelling of the piglet brain to simulate near-infrared spectroscopy and magnetic resonance spectroscopy data collected during oxygen deprivation.

We describe a computational model to simulate measurements from near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) in the piglet brain. Piglets are often subjected to anoxic, hypoxic and ischaemic insults, as experimental models for human neonates. The model aims to help interpret measurements and increase understanding of physiological processes occurring during such insults. It is an extension of a previous model of circulation and mitochondrial metabolism. This was developed to predict NIRS measurements in the brains of healthy adults i.e. concentration changes of oxyhaemoglobin and deoxyhaemoglobin and redox state changes of cytochrome c oxidase (CCO). We altered and enhanced the model to apply to the anaesthetized piglet brain. It now includes metabolites measured by (31)P-MRS, namely phosphocreatine, inorganic phosphate and adenosine triphosphate (ATP). It also includes simple descriptions of glycolysis, lactate dynamics and the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. The model is described, and its simulations compared with existing measurements from piglets during anoxia. The NIRS and MRS measurements are predicted well, although this requires a reduction in blood pressure autoregulation. Predictions of the cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen consumption (CMRO(2)) and lactate concentration, which were not measured, are given. Finally, the model is used to investigate hypotheses regarding changes in CCO redox state during anoxia

Global and regional brain metabolic scaling and its functional consequences

Background: Information processing in the brain requires large amounts of metabolic energy, the spatial distribution of which is highly heterogeneous reflecting complex activity patterns in the mammalian brain. Results: Here, it is found based on empirical data that, despite this heterogeneity, the volume-specific cerebral glucose metabolic rate of many different brain structures scales with brain volume with almost the same exponent around -0.15. The exception is white matter, the metabolism of which seems to scale with a standard specific exponent -1/4. The scaling exponents for the total oxygen and glucose consumptions in the brain in relation to its volume are identical and equal to $0.86\pm 0.03$, which is significantly larger than the exponents 3/4 and 2/3 suggested for whole body basal metabolism on body mass. Conclusions: These findings show explicitly that in mammals (i) volume-specific scaling exponents of the cerebral energy expenditure in different brain parts are approximately constant (except brain stem structures), and (ii) the total cerebral metabolic exponent against brain volume is greater than the much-cited Kleiber's 3/4 exponent. The neurophysiological factors that might account for the regional uniformity of the exponents and for the excessive scaling of the total brain metabolism are discussed, along with the relationship between brain metabolic scaling and computation.Comment: Brain metabolism scales with its mass well above 3/4 exponen

Epileptic brain damage : pathophysiology and neurochemical pathology.

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 characteristics, as previously proposed? Second, is it possible to identify one or several neurochemical events, at the cellular and subcellular level, that qualify as the final common pathways leading to neuronal necrosis? A related question is, will seizures cause structural damage even if they do not critically curtail cellular oxygen supply? A review of the literature and of recent results obtained in animals with long-term recovery following status epilepticus of known duration suggests that although brain damage caused by epilepsy shows some similarities to that incurred due to ischemic and hypoglycemic insults, it is far from identical. In well oxygenated animals with an adequate cardiovascular function, 2 hr of status epilepticus causes moderate neuronal necrosis in the cerebral cortex (layers 3-4), the hippocampus (CA4 and CA1 pyramidal cells), and the thalamus (ventromedial nuclei). In rats, status epilepticus of 30 min duration or longer invariably causes infarction of the substantia nigra (pars reticularis), with some affectation of globus pallidus as well. Notably, CA3 pyramids and dentate neurons are spared, as is the pars compacta of the substantia nigra. Neurochemical events in ischemia, hypoglycemia, and status epilepticus show some striking dissimilarities, yet all three conditions lead to neuronal necrosis. In complete or near-complete ischemia, in which metabolic rate virtually ceases; deterioration of tissue energy state is rapid and extensive, with dramatic loss of ion homeostasis; cellular redox systems are reduced; and acidosis is marked to excessive. In hypoglycemic coma, oxygen consumption continues, albeit at a reduced rate; loss of high energy phosphates is extensive but less than complete, as is loss of ion homeostasis; cellular redox system become oxidized; and acidosis is absent. In epileptic seizures, finally, metabolic rate is markedly enhanced; perturbation of tissue energy state and of ion homeostasis is minimal to small; and acidosis is moderate. Results obtained in experimental animals suggest that neuronal necrosis, when incurred, is unrelated to energy failure and occurs in spite of adequate cellular oxygenation. Four neurochemical events are common to all three conditions discussed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS

Molecular mechanisms of acidosis-mediated damage

The present article is concerned with mechanisms which are responsible for the exaggerated brain damage observed in hyperglycemic animals subjected to transient global or forebrain ischemia. Since hyperglycemia enchances the production of lactate plus H+ during ischemia, it seems likely that aggravation of damage is due to exaggerated intra- and extracellular acidosis. This contention is supported by results showing a detrimental effect of extreme hypercapnia in normoglycemic rats subjected to transient ischemia or to hypoglycemic coma. Enhanced acidosis may exaggerate ischemic damage by one of three mechanisms: (i) accelerating free radical production via H(+)-dependent reactions, some of which are catalyzed by iron released from protein bindings by a lowering of pH, (ii) by perturbing the intracellular signal transduction pathway, leading to changes in gene expression or protein synthesis, or (iii) by activating endonucleases which cause DNA fragmentation. While activation of endonucleases must affect the nucleus, the targets of free radical attack are not known. Microvessels are considered likely targets of such attack in sustained ischemia and in trauma; however, enhanced acidosis is not known to aggravate microvascular dysfunction, or to induce inflammatory responses at the endothelial-blood interface. A more likely target is the mitochondrion. Thus, if the ischemia is of long duration (30 min) hyperglycemia triggers rapidly developing mitochondrial failure. It is speculated that this is because free radicals damage components of the respiratory chain, leading to a secondary deterioration of oxidative phosphorylation