Ng. Harris et al., NEUROCHEMICAL CHANGES IN THE CEREBRAL-CORTEX OF TREATED AND UNTREATEDHYDROCEPHALIC RAT PUPS QUANTIFIED WITH IN-VITRO H-1-NMR SPECTROSCOPY, Journal of neurochemistry, 68(1), 1997, pp. 305-312
The pathophysiology of infantile hydrocephalus is poorly understood, a
nd shunt treatment does not always lead to a normal neurological outco
me. To investigate some of the neurochemical changes in infantile hydr
ocephalus and the response to shunt treatment, we have used high-resol
ution H-1-NMR spectroscopy to analyze extracts of cerebral cortex from
H-Tx rats, which have inherited hydrocephalus with an onset in late g
estation. Hydrocephalic rats and rats with shunts placed at either 4 o
r 12 days after birth were studied at 21 days after birth, together wi
th age-matched control littermates. In hydrocephalic rats there was a
46-62% reduction in the following compounds: myo-inositol, creatine, c
holine-containing compounds, N-acetyl aspartate, taurine, glutamine, g
lutamate, aspartate, and alanine. Phosphocreatine, glycine, GABA, and
lactate were also reduced but not significantly. These changes are con
sistent with neuronal atrophy rather than ischemic damage. In hydrocep
halic rats that received shunt treatment at 4 days, there were no sign
ificant reductions in any chemicals, indicating a normal complement of
neurons. However, some compounds, particularly taurine; were elevated
above control. After treatment at 12 days, N-acetyl aspartate and asp
artate remained significantly reduced, suggesting continued neuronal d
eficiency.