[Mechanism of antihypoxic effect of depakine].

It was shown that depakine (valproate) increases the lifespan of mice under hypoxic hypoxia, delays the appearance of rhythm disturbances and increases the total duration of ECG maintenance in rats in a low pressure chamber. Depakine was found to reduce the background level of lactate in brain and cardiac tissues and to prevent lactate accumulation characteristic of hypoxia, as well as the shift in its standard ratio with pyruvate. Comparison of depakine with other GABA-ergic compounds with the use of the tests cited revealed that as regards the nature of its protective effect in hypoxia, depakine is close to sodium hydroxybutyrate and succinic semi-aldehyde. By antihypoxic action depakine significantly exceeds piracetam. Analysis of the effects of the inhibitors of various reactions of the "GABA shunt" suggests that the inhibition of succinic semi-aldehyde dehydrogenase accompanied by the enhanced NAD-dependent reduction of succinic semi-aldehyde to gamma-hydroxybutyric acid plays an important part in depakine antihypoxic action.