Local cerebral glucose metabolism after global ischemia: treatment by ventriculocisternal perfusion with a fluorocarbon emulsion.

The local cerebral metabolic rate for glucose (LCMRg) was measured in cats subjected to global cerebral ischemia (GCI). Control (nonperfused) cats showed decreased LCMRg (P less than 0.01) in the frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital cortex 9.5 hours after a 10-minute exposure to GCI. Cats perfused ventriculocisternally with oxygenated nutrient solution (ONS) for 8 hours showed significant increases in the LCMRg (p less than 0.05) at 9.5 hours postischemia in the parietal and occipital areas over the levels found in untreated ischemic cats. Supplementing the ONS perfusion medium with fluorocarbon (OFNS) increased the LCMRg (P less than 0.05) in the frontal, as well as the parietal and occipital areas, over that seen in untreated ischemic brains. The increase of LCMRg in three (rather than only two) cortical areas may be a result of the ability of the fluorocarbon in OFNS to deliver greater quantities of oxygen to the brain than ONS without fluorocarbon. Perfusion with OFNS without glucose, or with low (50 mg%) glucose, was more effective than OFNS with high (200 mg%) glucose in restoring LCMRg to normal in all four cortical areas affected by GCI. In five brain areas not affected by GCI, perfusion with OFNS having no glucose significantly increased LCMRg as compared to normal animals. This study demonstrates that OFNS perfused by the ventriculocisternal route can restore toward normal the LCMRg following GCI and that different concentrations of glucose in the perfusing fluid will have variable effects on LCMRg in certain brain areas.