Regional cortical metabolism in focal ischemia

Regional cortical levels of organic phosphates and carbohydrates were measured in cat brains, enzymatically inactivated by the technique of "funnel freezing" 1 hour after occlusion of a middle cerebral artery (MCA). Significant metabolic alterations occurred in all hemispheres ipsilateral to the site of occlusion. However, there was marked interindividual variability, with changes ranging from only slight increases in lactate, pyruvate, and adenosine monophosphate (AMP) in small regions of cortex at one extreme, to profound depletion of high-energy phosphates, depression of glucose and pyruvate levels, and increased lactate, adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and AMP levels in much of the hemisphere of the most severely involved animals. In contrast, metabolic changes in the hemisphere contralateral to the site of occlusion were very few or nonexistent. In addition, in all ipsilateral hemispheres there were regions peripheral to the areas of greatest metabolic alteration where there was excessive elevation of glucose levels. The results demonstrate that occlusion of a major cerebral vessel does not produce metabolic changes that are consistent in their distribution or severity. However, the findings of this study probably depict some of the complicated metabolic events that occur clinically during thrombotic or embolic infarction of brain.