STARVATION AND DEHYDRATION ATTENUATE CNS OXYGEN-TOXICITY IN RATS

We tested the effect of moderate food or water deprivation and a combi nation of the two on sensitivity to hyperoxia-induced seizures in rats . Seventy rats with chronic cortical electrodes were exposed to seven experimental protocols: starvation, dehydration or a combination of bo th for 24 or 36 h, prior to exposure to 0.5 Mp(a)O(2). Blood glucose a nd hematocrit were measured before and after exposure to hyperbaric ox ygen (HBO). Starvation and dehydration significantly prolonged the lat ent period to the onset of. hyperoxia-induced seizures (P < 0.05 in th e Tukey test), in a dose-related manner. Our results suggest that depr ivation of food or water, prior to exposure to HBO, may postpone the d evelopment of hyperoxia-induced seizures. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B. V.