Effects of 3-acetylpyridine on local cerebral glucose utilization.

Local cerebral glucose utilization was observed in mice treated with 3-acetylpyridine (3-AP), one of the nicotinamide antagonists. This drug resulted in loss of pyramidal cells and gliosis restricted almost exclusively to Spielmeyer's resistant sector (area CA3) in the dorsal hippocampus. On the other hand, the most striking feature in the autoradiographic observations was that optical density in the impaired CA3 region of the dorsal hippocampus was significantly increased (P less than 0.01). Therefore, when the 2-deoxyglucose method is employed under pathological conditions, one must pay attention to these glial reactions.