6533b7d1fe1ef96bd125d57a

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Effect of Torasemide — A New Cl--Transport Inhibitor on Glial Swelling by Lactacidosis and Glutamate

subject

description

Cytotoxic brain edema, i.e. swelling of glial- and nerve cells is a common result of cerebral ischemia, brain trauma, metabolic disorders, and develops secondarily in vasogenic edema. During ischemia and severe head injury, brain tissue homeostasis is severely changed, and many parameters are simultaneously affected. To dissect and isolate the causal mechanisms leading to swelling of nerve- and glial cells, our laboratory has established an in vitro model [4, 5]. Thereby pathomechanisms can be studied in isolation without interference of epiphenomena taking place in damaged brain tissue under circumstances of cerebral ischemia or trauma. In previous studies the role of acidosis in cell swelling has been analyzed by using C6 glioma cells or astrocytes obtained from primary culture [5, 8]. Cell swelling was found at a pH of 6.8 and below, i.e. at a level of acidosis which occurs in ischemia or trauma [7] of the brain. Another aspect is related with glutamate. The excitatory neurotransmitter is released in large amounts in ischemic or traumatized brain tissue [1] and likely to be involved in cell swelling [9].