Brain glucose metabolism in hypobaric hypoxia

Hypobaric hypoxia at one-half atmospheric pressure for 3 wk was reported to increase the brain capillary density and glucose transport at the blood-brain barrier in the adult rat. We examined the metabolic concomitants of these alterations in rats subjected to the same hypoxic insult. Hypoxic rats increased brain glucose and lactate concentrations and decreased brain glycogen. However, hypoxia had no significant effects on regional brain levels of ATP and phosphocreatine or on intracellular pH, indicating successful adaptation to the hypoxic insult. 2-Deoxyglucose studies showed that hypoxia increased the regional metabolic rate for glucose by 10-40%. These results indicate increased glycolysis in the hypoxic rat brain, which probably underlies the increased density of glucose transporters in brain microvessels and the increased blood-to-brain glucose influx in hypoxia.