[Cerebral glucose metabolism studied with (14C)-deoxyglucose method in experimental hydrocephalus].

Hydrocephalus is known to produce progressive mental deterioration and other peculiar neurological symptoms and signs, such as gait disturbance, pyramidal and extrapyramidal signs and urinary incontinence. Alteration of energy metabolism in various cerebral regions in association with hydrocephalus, however, has not been fully understood. The quantitative carbon 14 deoxyglucose autoradiographic method was employed in kaolin induced hydrocephalus of rats. The hydrocephalic rats developed marked emaciation with normal physiological parameters. They showed reduced motor activity and muscle tone and sluggish reflexes. The animals remained conscious and displayed no seizure activity. The rates of local cerebral glucose utilization in the cortical areas and the thalamus were significantly lower than those of the control animals. In the limbic system, the hypothalamus, and basal ganglia, the values showed considerable variation, however, the degrees of reduction were relatively mild. The values in the brain stem were either lower or higher than those of the control animals. The lower values were seen in the sensory system and higher values in the nucleus raphe and locus ceruleus. Decrease of the glucose utilization rate in the cerebellum was moderate and uniform in all the cerebellar structures. Reductions of the metabolic rates in the white matter structures were relatively uniform throughout the brain.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)