The effect of aniracetam on cerebral glucose metabolism in rats after lesioning of the basal forebrain measured by PET.
To evaluate the effect of aniracetam, a potent modulator of the glutamatergic and cholinergic systems, on the altered cerebral glucose metabolism after lesioning of the basal forebrain, we measured the cerebral metabolic rate of glucose (CMRGlc) with positron emission tomography and the choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) activity in the frontal cortex of the lesioned rats after treating them with aniracetam. Continuous administration of aniracetam for 7 days after the surgery prevented CMRGlc reduction in the frontal cortex ipsilateral to the lesion while the lesioned rats without aniracetam showed significant CMRGlc reduction in the frontal cortex. The level of CMRGlc in the lesion-side basal forebrain was lower in all rats regardless of the aniracetam treatment. Biochemical studies showed that aniracetam did not alter the reduction in the frontal ChAT activity. These results showed that aniracetam prevents glucose metabolic reduction in the cholinergically denervated frontal cortex with little effect on the cortical cholinergic system. The present study suggested that a neurotransmitter system other than the cholinergic system, e.g. the glutamatergic system, plays a central role in the cortical metabolic recovery after lesioning of the basal forebrain.
Ouchi
Y
Y
Positron Medical Center, Hamamatsu Medical Center, Hamakita, Japan.
Kakiuchi
T
T
Okada
H
H
Nishiyama
S
S
Tsukada
H
H
D000818:Animals; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D002795:Choline O-Acetyltransferase / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D018697:Nootropic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016548:Prosencephalon / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D011760:Pyrrolidinones / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed / Q000379:methods
D018697:Nootropic Agents; D011760:Pyrrolidinones; C036466:aniracetam; D002795:Choline O-Acetyltransferase; D005947:Glucose