We examined whether non-enzymatic antioxidant defense systems are disrupted in the brain of rats with water-immersion restraint stress. When rats were exposed to water-immersion restraint stress for 1.5, 3 or 6 h, the brain had decreased ascorbic acid and reduced glutathione contents and increased lipid peroxide and nitric oxide metabolites contents at 3 h and showed further changes in these co...

PURPOSE Increased blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability is radiologically detectable in regions affected by drug-resistant epileptogenic lesions. Brain penetration of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) may be affected by BBB damage. We studied the effects of BBB damage on brain distribution of hydrophilic [deoxy-glucose (DOG) and sucrose] and lipophilic (phenytoin and diazepam) molecules. We tested th...

The effect of niravoline (RU 51599), a kappa opioid receptor agonist with water diuretic properties, was assessed on the resorption of postischemic cerebral edema in the conscious mouse in comparison with U 50488, another kappa opioid receptor agonist, and mannitol. Ischemia was obtained by permanent occlusion of the right middle cerebral artery. Twenty-four hours after occlusion, at a time whe...

Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) allows the assessment of the water apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), a measure of tissue water diffusivity which is altered during different pathological conditions such as cerebral oedema. By means of DWI, we repeatedly measured in the same rats apparent diffusion coefficient ADC in different brain areas (motor cortex (MCx), somato-sensory cortex (SCx), cau...

Measurement of the water content of the cerebral white matter in 26 control and 24 alcoholic cases supports in vivo MRI studies and previous necropsy studies which appeared to show an increase in the water content in the alcoholic group. This negates the hypothesis that reversible brain shrinkage in alcoholics is caused by changes in the state of hydration.

The nature of brain edema in dialysis disequilibrium syndrome (DDS) was investigated by diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI). DWI was performed on normal or bilaterally nephrectomized rats before, and immediately after, hemodialysis. Hemodialysis was performed with a custom-made dialyzer (surface area 150 cm2) against a bicarbonate-buffered bath for 90 min with or without 70 mM u...

Psychostimulants consumption is a serious social and health problem worldwide. The increase in drug abuse has a huge socio-economic impact in society, and more precisely carries great costs in health treatments. In fact, it is well known that cocaine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), amphetamine (AMPH) and methamphetamine (METH) have several neurotoxic effects, such as neurodegeneratio...

In an experimental investigation, the efficacy of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxation times in measuring brain water was studied. Cerebral edema was induced in four dogs with a freeze lesion, which was produced by contact with a steel cylinder cooled in liquid nitrogen and placed on the exposed dural surface of the brain. NMR proton imaging was performed 2, 3, 6, or 24 hr after producti...

We investigated the possible role of 7-nitroindazole (7-NI) in regulating serum neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and S100β levels in a rat model of traumatic brain injury (TBI). We also explored the possible mechanism by which 7-NI may affect the level of NSE and S100β. A total of 160 healthy adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 2 groups: i) The saline-treated group and ii) th...