EFFECTS OF A TRAUMATIC NEOCORTICAL LESION ON CEREBRAL METABOLISM AND GENE-EXPRESSION OF RATS

THE effects of a traumatic neocortical lesion, induced by transcranial cold injury, on brain metabolism and gene expression were examined. T he surrounding of the lesions was characterized by increased glucose a nd lactate levels without major disturbances of protein synthesis or e nergy state. A transient pH decrease by 0.4 units was noticed Ih post- injury, which shifted towards alkaline values by 3 h. The metabolic di sturbances did not differ between injured animals with spontaneous spr eading depressions (SD, n = 14) and those without SD (n = 7). In SD an imals, c-fos mRNA was strongly elevated in the injury-remote cortex, b ut hsp72 mRNA was not enhanced. Thus, in contrast to focal ischemia, t he metabolic dysfunction around traumatic cortical lesions is not aggr avated by SD. (C) 1998 Rapid Science Ltd.