Abstract
Phosphorus (31P) magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) of the brains of severely birth asphyxiated infants shows delayed “secondary” energy failure during the first 2 days of life (1). Our aim was to find out if this was i) reproducible in the newborn pig and ii) whether the severities of primary and secondary energy failure were related. 14 newborn pigs were anaesthetised and ventilated, and continuous 31P MRS observations were made for 48 hours. An acute cerebral hypoxic-ischaemic insult causing severe intracellular acidosis and depletion of cerebral high-energy phosphorus compounds was made 8 piglets and followed by resuscitation. The other 6 piglets were controls. During the insult, the phosphocreatine/inorganic orthophosphate ([PCr]/[Pi]) ratio fell from a mean of 1.59 (SD 0.43) to 0.02 (SD 0.02), but subsequently recovered. By 24 hours [PCr]/[Pi] was below both pre-insultand control values (p<0.05); it fell further to 0.46 (SD 0.44) during the next 24 hours (p<0.01). Intracellular pH was not different from pre-insult values. Minimum [PCr]/[Pi] was related inversely to the acute depletion of nucleotide triphosphates. We conclude that secondary energy failure can be reproduced in the newborn pig and that its extent is related to the severity of the acute insult.
1. Azzopardi et al. Pediatric Research 1989;25:445-451
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Lorek, A., Takei, Y., Peebles, D. et al. SECONDARY ENERGY FAILURE AFTER ACUTE CEREBRAL HYPOXIA-ISCHAEMIA IL. NEWBORN PIGS. Pediatr Res 35, 274 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199402000-00121
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199402000-00121