Abstract
The risk of bilirubin-related brain injury may be increased by perinatal or neonatal infection. To determine whether Gram-negative bacteremia acutely increases transfer of bilirubin and albumin from blood to brain, 6 adult rats were injected with 106 E. coli to produce positive blood cultures, and then infused while awake with bilirubin (BR) and 125I albumin (ALB) via indwelling catheters for 180 minutes. 3 of 6 rats with positive blood cultures had lethargy or temperature instability during the experiment. At 180 mins, the animals were sacrificed for brain BR and ALB concentrations. Compared to 5 controls, there were no differences in serum or brain BR and ALB in the bacteremic rats, as shown in the table:
In the adult rat, bacteremia does not cause acute changes in permeability of the blood-brain barrier to bilirubin or albumin. If sepsis does increase the risk of bilirubin injury to the central nervous system, systemic metabolic or circulatory changes due to sepsis or acute effects of endotoxin, rather than acute bacterial effects on the blood brain barrier, may be more likely reasons for this association.
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Chen, S., Cashore, W. & Oh, W. GRAM-NEGATIVE BACTEREMIA DOES NOT INCREASE ALBUMIN OR BILIRUBIN CONTENT IN BRAINS OF ADULT RATS. Pediatr Res 18 (Suppl 4), 271 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198404001-01069
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198404001-01069