CHEMICALLY-INDUCED ANALGESIC NEPHROPATHY IN THE RAT MONITORED BY PROTON-ELECTRON ON DOUBLE-RESONANCE IMAGING (PEDRI)

Proton-electron double-resonance imaging (PEDRI) was used to assess re nal function by monitoring the flow of the exogenous nitroxide free ra dical proxyl carboxylic acid (PCA) through normal and injured kidneys in the living rat. Kidney damage was induced by treatment with 2-bromo ethylamine (BEA), which provides a well established model for human an algesic nephropathy. PGA clearance rates for liver, abdominal blood ve ssels, and renal tissues were determined from serial PEDRI images of n ormal rats (n = 6) and rats treated with BEA (n = 21), Different group s of BEA-treated animals were imaged on day 4 (n = 6), day 6 (n = 6), and day 9 (n = 9) after treatment, In BEA-treated rats, there was an i ncrease in PCA half-life in all tissues studied. This increase was gre atest in the kidney tissues and the effect progressed with time after treatment. The effect is probably due to BEA-induced damage to the tub ules in the renal cortex and may not be related to the primary lesions in the renal medulla.