Regulation of brain water and electrolytes during acute hyperosmolality in rats

Regulation of brain water and electrolytes during acute hyperosmolal states has been studied in anesthetized rats. Rats were injected intravenously or intraperitoneally with hypertonic NaCl, mannitol, or sucrose (hyperosmolal series) or with isotonic NaCl (isosmolal controls). Terminal plasma osmolality varied from 290 to 385 mosmol/kg and the experimental duration from 15 to 120 min. Osmotically induced water loss from brain tissue for the different protocols was only 26-78% of that predicted for ideal osmotic behavior, revealing a degree of tissue volume regulation, and the brain gained Na, Cl, and K. This gain was sufficient to account quantitatively for tissue volume regulation at 120 min of hypernatremia but not at shorter times or during mannitol- or sucrose-induced hyperosmolality. Water loss and electrolyte uptake occur simultaneously, over 30 min, which limits the degree of brain shrinkage. Results of this analysis of the time course and magnitude of tissue electrolyte gain during acute hyperosmolality form the basis for the following two studies of the volume regulatory influx of electrolyte from plasma and CSF, respectively.