X-Message-Number: 11581
Date: Mon, 19 Apr 1999 13:21:28 -0700 (PDT)
From: Doug Skrecky <>
Subject: glycerol and brain edema

Authors
  Bralet J.  Beley P.  Bralet AM.  Beley A.
Title
  Comparison of the effects
  of hypertonic glycerol and urea on brain edema, energy
  metabolism and blood flow following cerebral microembolism in
  the rat. Deleterious effect of glycerol treatment.
Source
  Stroke.  14(4):597-604, 1983 Jul-Aug.
Abstract
  Cerebral microembolism was performed in rats by injecting radioactive
  calibrated 50 mu microspheres into the left internal carotid
  artery. The use of radioactive microspheres as embolic
  agents enabled the number of microspheres to be determined
  in each cerebral hemisphere. Edema was assessed 24 h after embolization by
  measuring brain water, sodium, and potassium content. Equiosmolal doses (40
  mmol/kg) of glycerol or urea were injected i.p. at various times before
  sacrifice. Both treatments caused similar changes in water and electrolyte
  content, brain dehydration being maximal 30 min after urea and 2 h after
  glycerol injection. Cerebral energy metabolism and regional blood flow were
  evaluated at the times of maximal brain dehydration. Urea
  treatment resulted in an improvement of the cerebral
  circulation whereas glycerol treatment led to a deterioration of cerebral
  blood flow which cannot be explained by failure to reduce edema and
  the consequent microcirculatory impairment. Urea treatment
  had no marked effect on cerebral energy metabolism whereas glycerol injection
  resulted in an important increase in brain lactate level which may be
  relevant to the impairment of cerebral reperfusion.
  These results point out that administration of a metabolized
  solute like glycerol may exert deleterious effects on
  the ischemic brain.

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