Benveniste H, Hedlund L W, Johnson G A
Department of Radiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C. 27710.
Stroke. 1992 May;23(5):746-54. doi: 10.1161/01.str.23.5.746.
The aim of this study was to measure apparent diffusion coefficients in rat brain tissue exposed to ouabain, glutamate, and N-methyl-D-aspartate and to compare them with apparent diffusion coefficients found in acute cerebral ischemia.
The apparent diffusion coefficient was measured using magnetic resonance microscopy in four groups of Sprague-Dawley rats after occlusion of the right middle cerebral artery and ipsilateral common carotid artery (n = 7), after ouabain exposure (n = 6), during glutamate exposure (n = 7), or during N-methyl-D-aspartate exposure (n = 3). Ouabain, glutamate, and N-methyl-D-aspartate were applied via an intracerebrally implanted microdialysis membrane.
Three hours after the induction of focal cerebral ischemia, a 33% reduction in the apparent diffusion coefficient was observed in the right dorsolateral corpus striatum and olfactory cortex. After ouabain exposure, reductions in the apparent diffusion coefficient were observed within a 1,500-microns radius of the microdialysis membrane. Quantitative analysis revealed that apparent diffusion coefficient values in ischemic and ouabain-exposed tissue fell within the same range. Glutamate and N-methyl-D-aspartate reduced the brain tissue apparent diffusion coefficient by 35% and 40%, respectively.
On the basis of these findings, we conclude that ischemia-induced apparent diffusion coefficient reductions are likely caused by a shift of extracellular to intracellular water.
