Cerebral oxygenation state in chemically-induced seizures in the rat--study by near infrared spectrophotometry

The hemoglobin oxygenation state and the redox state of Cyt.ox. in the rat brain during and after seizure induced by PTZ were measured by using near-infrared spectrophotometry. PTZ administration caused transient reduction of Cyt.ox. in the brain, which might be a trigger for the increase of CBF during seizure. In postictal phase, although BP remained high, Cyt.ox. was in the certain reduced state, which might be due to A-V shunt. Hypoxic loading during seizure caused more reduction of Cyt.ox. than under non-epileptic conditions, which meant that seizure even under mild hypoxic conditions could cause severe hypoxic brain damage.