JCI - Amelioration of ischemic brain damage by peritoneal dialysis

JCI - Amelioration of ischemic brain damage by peritoneal dialysis

Author information

• Find articles by
  del Carmen Godino, M. in:
• JCI | PubMed | Google Scholar
• Find articles by
  Sánchez-Prieto, J. in:
• JCI | PubMed | Google Scholar

• Top
• Abstract
• Introduction
• Results and Discussion
• Methods
• Supplemental material
• References

Need help?

• E-mail the JCI

J Clin Invest. doi:10.1172/JCI67284.
Copyright © 2013, The American Society for Clinical Investigation.

Brief Report

Amelioration of ischemic brain damage by peritoneal dialysis

María del Carmen Godino¹, Victor G. Romera², José Antonio Sánchez-Tomero³, Jesus Pacheco⁴, Santiago Canals⁴, Juan Lerma⁴, José Vivancos⁵, María Angeles Moro², Magdalena Torres¹, Ignacio Lizasoain² and José Sánchez-Prieto¹

¹Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain.
²Departamento de Farmacología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain.
³Servicio de Nefrología, Hospital Universitario de la Princesa, Madrid, Spain.
⁴Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicante, Universidad Miguel Hernández-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Sant Joan d′Alacant, Spain.
⁵Servicio de Neurología, Hospital Universitario de la Princesa, Madrid, Spain.

Address correspondence to: Ignacio Lizasoain, Departamento de Farmacología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Complutense, Madrid-28040, Spain. Phone: 34.91.3941465; Fax: 34.91.3941464; E-mail: ignacio.lizasoain@med.ucm.es. Or to: José Sánchez-Prieto, Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad Complutense, Madrid-28040, Spain. Phone: 34.91.3943891; Fax: 34.91.3943909; E-mail: jsprieto@vet.ucm.es.

Authorship note: María del Carmen Godino and Victor G. Romera contributed equally to this work.

Published September 3, 2013
Received for publication October 11, 2012, and accepted in revised form July 3, 2013.

Ischemic stroke is a devastating condition, for which there is still no effective therapy. Acute ischemic stroke is associated with high concentrations of glutamate in the blood and interstitial brain fluid. The inability of the tissue to retain glutamate within the cells of the brain ultimately provokes neuronal death. Increased concentrations of interstitial glutamate exert further excitotoxic effects on healthy tissue surrounding the infarct zone. We developed a strategy based on peritoneal dialysis to reduce blood glutamate levels, thereby accelerating brain-to-blood glutamate clearance. In a rat model of stroke, this simple procedure reduced the transient increase in glutamate, consequently decreasing the size of the infarct area. Functional magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated that the rescued brain tissue remained functional. Moreover, in patients with kidney failure, peritoneal dialysis significantly decreased glutamate concentrations. Our results suggest that peritoneal dialysis may represent a simple and effective intervention for human stroke patients.