Metabolic and Histologic Effects of Sodium Pyruvate Treatment in the Rat after Cortical Contusion Injury

Abstract This study determined the effects of intraperitoneal sodium pyruvate (SP) treatment on the levels of circulating fuels and on cerebral microdialysis levels of glucose (MDglc), lactate (MDlac), and pyruvate (MDpyr), and the effects of SP treatment on neuropathology after left cortical contusion injury (CCI) in rats. SP injection (1000 mg/kg) 5 min after sham injury (Sham-SP) or CCI (CCI-SP) significantly increased arterial pyruvate (p < 0.005) and lactate (p < 0.001) compared to that of saline-treated rats with CCI (CCI-Sal). Serum glucose also increased significantly in CCI-SP compared to that in CCI-Sal rats (p < 0.05), but not in Sham-SP rats. MDpyr was not altered after CCI-Sal, whereas MDlac levels within the cerebral cortex significantly increased bilaterally (p < 0.05) and those for MDglc decreased bilaterally (p < 0.05). MDpyr levels increased significantly in both Sham-SP and CCI-SP rats (p < 0.05 vs. CCI-Sal) and were higher in left/injured cortex of the CCI-SP group (p < 0.05 vs. sham-S...