Glycerol dehydrates oedematous as well as normal brain in dogs

1. Although the effect of glycerol on reducing intracranial pressure has been widely investigated, only a few studies have reported its dehydrating effect on brain oedema caused by infarction, ischaemia, microembolism and cold injury, but none on traumatic oedema. In this study the effects of glycerol (1 g/kg, i.v. bolus infusion at a rate of 0.04 g/kg per min) on traumatic and cryogenic cerebral oedema and on normal brain were compared in the anaesthetized dog. The tissue water content was measured with the gravimetric method. 2. Oedema resulting from mechanical trauma was initiated 4 h prior to treatment with glycerol (8 dogs) or vehicle (5 dogs) by closed head contusion with fixed force under general anaesthesia. Tissue samples underneath the region of contusion were taken, before and 1 h after infusion of glycerol or vehicle, for the measurement of water content. 3. Glycerol infusion decreased the water content in white matter of the traumatic brain model from 76.54 +/- 1.70% to 70.73 +/- 1.54% (P < 0.001). In normal brain the reduction was from 68.42 +/- 0.48% to 65.36 +/- 0.39% (P < 0.001). Neither vehicle nor glycerol infusion resulted in significant changes in specific gravity of the gray matter. 4. Cryogenic oedema was initiated 3 h prior to the infusion of glycerol or vehicle by applying unilaterally a brass conical cup (bottom diameter 1 cm) filled with dry ice-acetone (-65 degrees C) to the exposed dura for 1 min. The contralateral hemisphere, which was not subjected to cold injury, was used for determination of water content of normal gray and white matter. 5. Glycerol infusion decreased the water content in the white matter of the cold-injured region from 75.38 +/- 0.69% to 72.57 +/- 0.58% (P < 0.001). In the normal white matter the reduction was from 68.63 +/- 0.34% to 65.48 +/- 0.49% (P < 0.001). 6. Our data indicate that glycerol decreases water content of the white matter in traumatic and cold-injured oedematous brain as well as in normal brain.