Influence of lactate accumulation on calcium content of ischemic and postischemic brain

In this study, the cerebral hemisphere content of calcium as well as selected parameters of oxidative metabolism and electrophysiological function were assessed in normoglycemic and hyperglycemic rats that were exposed to ischemia produced by electrocautery of the vertebral arteries and reversible occlusion of the carotid arteries. In hyperglycemic animals, 0.5 h of ischemia was associated with large accumulations of lactate (27 mmol/kg), whereas normoglycemic animals showed lesser lactate accumulation (17 mmol/kg). At this sampling time (0.5 h of ischemia), both groups of ischemic animals showed tissue calcium contents that were unchanged from preischemic control levels. In normoglycemic animals, release of the carotid clamps and recirculation for 1.5-24 h was associated with normalization of lactate, ATP and phosphocreatine, clinical behavior, and EEG. During this 24 h of recirculation, cerebral calcium levels showed no changes. Hyperglycemic ischemic animals recirculated for 1.5-24 h showed a persistent lactic acidosis, depressed ATP and phosphocreatine, gross EEG abnormalities, seizures, and a high mortality rate. Again, during this 24 h period, cerebral calcium content showed no changes from preischemic control or from the matched saline-treated group. These data suggest that significant accumulation of calcium in brain tissue is not an early event in ischemic-hyperglycemic brain damage, and thus does not provide support for a role of calcium in the production of this form of ischemic damage.