Nicotinamide prevents the long-term effects of perinatal asphyxia on basal ganglia monoamine systems in the rat

Asphyxia during birth can cause gross brain damage, but also subtle perturbations expressed as biochemical or motor deficits with late onset in life. Thus, it has been shown that brain dopamine levels can be increased or decreased depending upon the severity of the insult, and the region where the levels are determined. In this study, perinatal asphyxia was evoked by immersing pup-containing uterus horns removed by hysterectomy in a water bath at 37°C for various periods of time from 0 to 20 min. After the insult, the pups were delivered, given to surrogate mothers, treated with nicotinamide, further observed and finally, 4 weeks later, killed for monoamine biochemistry of tissue samples taken from substantia nigra, neostriatum and nucleus accumbens. The main effect of perinatal asphyxia was a decrease in dopamine and metabolite levels in nucleus accumbens, and a paradoxical increase in the substantia nigra. Nicotinamide (100 mg/kg i.p., once a day for 3 days, beginning 24 h after th

Experimental Brain Research 148 2 227 232

Asphyxia during birth can cause gross brain damage, but also subtle perturbations expressed as biochemical or motor deficits with late onset in life. Thus, it has been shown that brain dopamine levels can be increased or decreased depending upon the severity of the insult, and the region where the levels are determined. In this study, perinatal asphyxia was evoked by immersing pup-containing uterus horns removed by hysterectomy in a water bath at 37degreesC for various periods of time from 0 to 20 min. After the insult, the pups were delivered, given to surrogate mothers, treated with nicotinamide, further observed and finally, 4 weeks later, killed for monoamine biochemistry of tissue samples taken from substantia nigra, neostriatum and nucleus accumbens. The main effect of perinatal asphyxia was a decrease in dopamine and metabolite levels in nucleus accumbens, and a paradoxical increase in the substantia nigra. Nicotinamide (100 mg/kg i.p., once a day for 3 days, beginning 24 h after the perinatal asphyctic insult) prevented the effect of asphyxia in nucleus accumbens. Furthermore, striatal dopamine levels were increased by nicotinamide in asphyctic animals. No apparent changes were observed in substantia nigra. A prominent unexpected effect of perinatal asphyxia alone was on the levels of the metabolite of 5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), which were increased in substantia nigra and decreased in both neostriatum and accumbens. However, nicotinamide increased 5-HIAA levels in all regions, which appeared to be related to the extent of the asphyctic insult. These results suggest that nicotinamide is a useful treatment against the long-term consequences produced by perinatal asphyxia on brain monoamine systems, and that there is a therapeutic window following the insult, providing a therapeutic opportunity to protect the brain

Microdialysis for myocardial metabolic surveillance: developing a clinical technique

Metabolic surveillance of the myocardium is of great interest in cardiac surgery. Microdialysis allows sampling of chemical substances from the interstitial fluid for immediate analysis. The two objectives of this study were to develop a technique for simple and safe implantation of a commercially available microdialysis probe (CMA-70) into the myocardium and to obtain reference data for further use and metabolic control. Eighteen pigs were used in an experimental ischaemic heart model where the left anterior descending coronary artery was occluded for 20 min. Microdialysis was performed proximally as well as distally to the arterial occlusion site corresponding to a control and an ischaemic area in the heart. Two techniques were tried for probe implantation, using either a pacemaker wire attached to the probe tip or a needle introducer. Metabolic substrates (glucose, lactate, glycerol and pyruvate) were collected before, during and after ischaemia, for up to 6 h. Both techniques were highly effective in registering metabolic changes due to ischaemia with sharp time resolution, but the needle introducer was superior regarding probe durability. It is concluded that the CMA-70 microdialysis probe implanted with the needle introducer allows for an accurate monitoring of myocardial metabolism during a prolonged period of time. Future studies in the human heart are warranted to further validate the technique

INVOLVEMENT OF LOCAL ISCHEMIA IN ENDOTHELIN-1 INDUCED LESIONS OF THE NEOSTRIATUM OF THE ANESTHETIZED RAT

The present study examines the possibility that lesions induced by intrastriatal injections of endothelin-1 (ET-1, 0.43 nmol/0.5-mu-l) are ischemic in nature due to a vasoconstriction of the cerebral microvessels. In time course and dose-response experiments with ET-1 and in comparisons with ET-3, the volume of the lesions has been determined based mainly on the disappearance of striatal nerve cells, using a computer assisted morphometrical analysis. The blood flow in the neostriatum close to the site of injection of ET-1 was determined acutely by Laser-Doppler flowmetry. The acute metabolic effects of ET-1 were also studied on striatal superfusate levels of lactate, pyruvate, dopamine and its metabolites DOPAC (3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid) and homovanillic acid (HVA) using an intrastriatal microdialysis probe. Dose related striatal lesions were observed with ET-1 (0.043-0.43 nmol) with a peak lesion volume after 24-48 h and the possible existence of a penumbra area. ET-3 showed a reduced potency to produce striatal lesions compared to ET-1. The lesions induced by ET-1 were prevented by coinjection with dihydralazine, a vasodilator drug. Acutely ET-1 (0.43 nmol/0.5-mu-l) produced a prolonged reduction of the cerebral blood flow down to 40% of control values and temporary increases of striatal lactate and DA efflux, the latter change being very marked. Also a significant reduction of DOPAC and HVA was observed. These neurochemical changes were all prevented by treatment with dihydralazine. These results indicate that ET-1 injected in the neostriatum may produce lesions by causing local ischemia, related to its vasoconstrictor activity and possibly also to an activation of ET-1 receptors in the astroglial-endothelial complex. Based on the present results it seems possible that ET-1 may participate in the multifactorial pathogenesis of cerebral ischemia