Glucose and perinatal hypoxic-ischemic brain damage in the rat

Seven-day postnatal rats were rendered hyperglycemic by the SC injection of 50% glucose, following which they were exposed to hypoxia with 8% oxygen. The glucose-treated animals survived more than twice as long as saline-treated littermates. Other hyperglycemic and control rat pups were subjected to hypoxia-ischemia by unilateral common carotid artery occlusion combined with 2 hours of hypoxia. Neuropathologic analysis of recovered animals at 30 days of age showed that the brains of the glucose-treated animals were no more damaged than those of the saline controls (p greater than 0.05). The finding indicates that, unlike adults, glucose supplementation and its associated hyperglycemia in the immature rat does not increase the extent of hypoxic-ischemic brain damage.