Brain-derived neurotrophic factor rescues neurons from bacterial meningitis.

Mortality and neurologic deficits still occurs frequently following bacterial meningitis in children, despite antibiotic treatment. We investigated the neuroprotective effects of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) on brain neurons in bacterial meningitis. The rat model of bacterial meningitis and a normal rat model were developed. Either BDNF or albumin was injected into the cerebral ventricle 24 hours after and before inoculation for 7 days, respectively. Three of the rats treated with albumin died during the course of treatment, but none of those treated with BDNF. The neuronal population in both cerebral cortex and hippocampus of the rats treated with BDNF markedly increased, compared with the rats treated with albumin, but there was no significant difference between the rats treated with BDNF after and before inoculation, nor between the normal rats treated with BDNF and albumin. The present findings indicate that BDNF could protect a large number of neurons in cerebral cortex and hippocampus from inflammatory brain injury in bacterial meningitis. The administration of exogenous BDNF may be a new and effective way to decrease mortality and improve sequelae following bacterial meningitis.