FRUCTOSE-1,6-BISPHOSPHATE AFTER HYPOXIC-ISCHEMIC INJURY IS PROTECTIVETO THE NEONATAL RAT-BRAIN

Fructose-1,6-bisphosphate (FBP) has been shown to attenuate central ne rvous system injury in adult animals. We evaluated whether FBP given a fter an ischemic-hypoxic insult is protective to the developing brain in a neonatal rat model of hypoxia-ischemia. Postnatal day 7 rat pups were subjected to focal ischemia followed by global hypoxia and then a dministered either FBP or saline intraperitoneally. A dose of 500 mg/k g or greater of FBP significantly reduced the amount of injury such th at 55% of FBP-vs. 17% of saline-treated rats had no injury; 6% of FBP- and 47% of saline-treated rats had severe damage (P=0.004). There was less infarcted brain in FBP-treated rats (12+/-11% vs. 37+/-32%; P=0. 005); and fewer FBP-treated rats had >30% ipsilateral cortical injury (12% of FBP- vs, 50% of saline-treated rats; P=0.002). FBP lowered ser um calcium levels during the first 24 h after the insult without signi ficant changes in ionized calcium or osmolarity. These results indicat e that FBP treatment administered systemically after hypoxia-ischemia reduces CNS injury in neonatal rats.