Effect of ketamine on hypoxic-ischemic brain damage in newborn rats

The present study tests the hypothesis that ketamine, a dissociative anesthetic known to be a non-competitive antagonist of the NMDA receptor, will attenuate hypoxic-ischemic damage in neonatal rat brain. Studies were performed in 7-day-old rat pups which were divided into four groups. Animals of the first group, neither ligated nor exposed to hypoxia, served as controls. The second group was exposed to hypoxic-ischemic conditions and sacrificed immediately afterwards. Animals of the third and fourth groups were treated either with saline or ketamine (20 mg/kg, i.p.) in four doses following hypoxia. Hypoxic-ischemic injury to the left cerebral hemisphere was induced by ligation of the left common carotid artery followed by 1 h of hypoxia with 8% oxygen. Measurements of high energy phosphates (ATP and phosphocreatine) and amino acids (glutamate and glutamine) and neuropathological evaluation of the hippocampal formation were used to assess the effects of hypoxia-ischemia. The combination of common carotid artery ligation and exposure to an hypoxic environment caused major alterations in the ipsilateral hemisphere. In contrast, minor alterations in amino acid concentrations were observed after the end of hypoxia in the contralateral hemisphere. These alterations were restored during the early recovery period. Post-treatment with ketamine was associated with partial restoration of energy stores and amino acid content of the left cerebral hemisphere. Limited attenuation of the damage to the hippocampal formation as demonstrated by a reduction in the number of damaged neurons was also observed. These findings demonstrate that systemically administered ketamine after hypoxia offers partial protection to the newborn rat brain against hypoxic-ischemic injury. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.