Effect of prolonged and intermittent hypoxia on some cerebral enzymatic activities related to energy transduction.

The adaptation to repeated, alternate normobaric hypoxic and normoxic exposures (12 h/day, for 5 days) and to pharmacological treatment was evaluated by studying the specific activities of some enzymes related to cerebral energy metabolism. Measurements were carried out on (a) the homogenate in toto, (b) the purified mitochondrial fraction, and (c) the crude synaptosomal fraction in different areas of rat brain--cerebral cortex, hippocampus, corpus striatum, hypothalamus, cerebellum, and medulla oblongata. The adaptation to intermittent normobaric hypoxic-normoxic exposures was characterized by significant modifications of some enzyme activities in synaptosomes (decrease of cytochrome oxidase activity in the hippocampus, corpus striatum, and cerebellum; decrease of malate dehydrogenase activity in the cerebellum) and in the purified mitochondrial fraction (increase of succinate dehydrogenase activity in the corpus striatum). Daily treatment with three doses of naftidrofuryl (10, 15, and 22.5 mg/kg i.m.) modified some enzyme activities affected or unaffected by intermittent hypoxia and, particularly, decreased acetylcholinesterase activity.