Vascular resistance, metabolism and EEG within cerebral grey and white matter during hypoxia in neonatal piglets.

To study unsolved problems of the causal chain of neonatal hypoxic brain damage in 31 hypoxic newborn non-anesthetized piglets cerebro-vascular, metabolic and EEG reactions were investigated (FiO2: 0.06-0.10, 1 h). Only in artificially ventilated newborn piglets this acute hypoxic hypoxia provoked a vital decompensation by critical depression of mean arterial blood pressure (less than or equal to 4.67 kPa [35 mmHg]) and/or a critical increase of vascular resistance (Rc) in the cerebral white matter (greater than 50%). Spontaneously breathing piglets survived always showing hyperventilation, higher pHa and an increase of cerebral O2-consumption in cerebral grey matter, partly also in white matter. This critical increase of Rc was related to a critical decrease of O2-consumption in the white matter and an insufficient decrease of Rc of the grey matter. The observed strong metabolic and hemodynamic differences between these two brain compartments can explain the evaluated special morphological vulnerability of cerebral white matter in ventilated animals.