[The effect of succinic acid on postresuscitation pathology of the CNS and of the body as a whole].

The effect of oral succinic acid was studied in rats exposed to 10-min heart arrest followed by resuscitation. The drug was administered for 5 days in a dose of 30 mg/kg starting from day 3 up to day 7 after resuscitation. Succinic acid was found to normalize the orientation and exploration behavior of rats in the "open field" test, decreased the intensity of response to stress (electric shock), and normalized the radical formation in the brain tissue and blood serum, thus reducing the morphological changes in the brain. In addition, succinic acid prevented the development of risk factors of atherogenesis, namely, increase of the levels of blood cholesterol, triglycerides, and low and very low density lipoproteins. Further studies are needed to validate the addition of succinic acid to the armory of drugs preventing the development of postresuscitation encephalopathies in remote (3 months) periods.