Cardioprotective effects of sodium gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) on brain induced myocardial injury.

Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) was evaluated as a protective agent in a gerbil model of non-lethal myocardial injury that follows brain ischaemia. The accumulation of fat droplets in myocardial fibers following brain infarction was measured by electron microscopic morphometry and expressed as a percentage of the area of the sarcoplasm. GHB treatment significantly reduced the area occupied by lipid droplets compared with that found in saline treated controls measured both 10 hours (p less than .005) and 24 hours (p less than 0.05) after unilateral carotid ligation. GHB did not affect the ischaemic swelling of the brain.