Glucose-associated alterations in ischemic brain metabolism of neonatal piglets.

Background And Purpose: During global brain ischemia or hypoxia-ischemia in adults, hyperglycemia is deleterious to the brain. In contrast, similar adverse effects have not been found in neonatal animals. This investigation examined neonatal piglets to determine if there were specific alterations of ischemic brain metabolism associated with different systemic glucose concentrations and to potentially clarify the effects of hyperglycemia during ischemia in neonates.

Methods: Two groups of animals (n = 12 in each group) were studied during partial ischemia to compare the effects of hyperglycemia (plasma glucose concentration, 258 +/- 97 mg% [mean +/- SD]) with modest hypoglycemia (plasma glucose concentration, 62 +/- 23 mg%). A broad spectrum of cerebral blood flow reduction was achieved by combining inflation of a cervical pressure cuff with varying degrees of hemorrhagic hypotension. High-energy phosphorylated metabolites, intracellular pH, and cerebral blood flow were simultaneously measured using a magnetic resonance spectroscopic technique. Brain metabolic variables (beta-ATP, inorganic phosphorus, phosphocreatine, intracellular pH) were plotted as a function of blood flow reduction during partial ischemia for each group.

Results: During ischemia values of cerebral blood flow were comparably distributed between groups and ranged from 15% to 110% of those of control. At a given reduction of cerebral blood flow, hyperglycemic piglets maintained a higher concentration of beta-ATP (p = 0.011) and had a smaller increase in inorganic phosphorus (p less than 0.001). At cerebral blood flow less than 50% of control, the intracellular pH of piglets with modest hypoglycemia during partial ischemia was never reduced to less than 6.46, whereas intracellular pH fell as low as 5.97 for hyperglycemic animals.

Conclusions: ATP preservation may account for the differing effects of glucose during ischemia in neonates compared with adults, provided that the accentuated brain acidosis is not deleterious to neonatal brain tissue.