1711 ENERGY STATE OF THE BRAIN IN EXPERIMENTAL NEONATAL STATUS EPILEPTICUS

Abstract

Cerebral metabolic responses to status epilepticus (SE) were investigated for the first time in neonatal primates. Ten 14-day old Marmoset monkeys were anesthetized with ketamine & monitored for systemic BP, blood gases & glucose. An IM injection of bicuculline produced tonic-clonic convulsions without hypoxemia, hypoglycemia or hypotension for 30 min,; thereafter, brains were quick frozen & prepared for regional NADH reflectance fluorometry & ATP bioluminescence. Micro-samples of forebrain were analyzed for ATP (C-2.66, SE-2.04), P-creatine (C-3.45, SE-0.92), Glucose (C-3.57, SE-0.20) and Lactate (C-1.23, SE-10.05)mmol/kg. Similar alterations in metabolite levels were noted in diencephalon and in deep cerebral cortical structures. NADH fluorometry produced patchy relatively symmetrical areas of enhanced fluorescence in boundary zones between anterior & middle cerebral arteries of cerebral cortex, in cingulate gyri & diencephalon. Regional ATP was decreased globally in SE animals. Furthermore, ATP levels were not statistically different in brain regions with high or low NADH fluorescence. Thus, glycolytic intermediates & high energy reserves are disrupted in brains of neonatal Marmosets sustaining SE. The insult follows in part a vascular distribution. Whether or not the altered energy state is severe enough to be associated with brain damage is under investigation. (Supported by Research Service of the Veterans Administration and by NIH #PNS-13515 and #HD-15738.

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