Early malnutrition, but not age, modulates in the rat the L-Arginine facilitating effect on cortical spreading depression.
Nutritional factors acting during brain development can permanently alter brain electrophysiology. L-Arginine is the precursor of nitric oxide synthesis, which can modulate brain function. Here we investigated the effect of early-in-life administration (during postnatal days 7-28) of L-Arginine (300 mg/(kg day)) on cortical spreading depression (CSD), recorded in well-nourished and malnourished (large litters technique) rats aged 30-40 days (young) and 90-110 days (adult). Compared to water-treated controls, well-nourished L-Arginine-treated rats, but not the malnourished ones, displayed higher CSD velocities (P<0.05) at both ages. The mean+/-S.D. CSD velocities (in mm/min) were: for water- and L-Arginine well-nourished rats, 3.78+/-0.23 and 4.36+/-0.19 (young groups), and 3.28+/-0.16 and 4.09+/-0.30 (adult); for the same conditions in the malnourished rats, 4.22+/-0.09 and 4.27+/-0.21 (young), and 4.11+/-0.18 and 4.21+/-0.33 (adult). L-Arginine treatment did not affect body and brain weights. It is concluded that early L-Arginine treatment long lastingly increased brain CSD-susceptibility and this effect is abolished by early malnutrition.
Dept of Nutrition, Univ Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil.
Marília Ferreira
MF
Frazão
Luciana Maria
LM
Silva de Seixas Maia
Rubem Carlos Araújo
RC
Guedes
D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001120:Arginine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D013181:Cortical Spreading Depression / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000379:methods; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000503:physiopathology; D051381:Rats
D001120:Arginine