Enhanced regional uptake of 2-deoxy-D-[14C]glucose in focal herpes simplex type 1 encephalitis: autoradiographic study in the rat.

We used the 2-deoxy-D-[14C]glucose (14C-DG) quantitative autoradiographic method to assess regional glucose metabolism in rats with focal herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) encephalitis. High 14C-DG uptake was detected in infected brain structures of both immunocompetent and immunosuppressed animals, likely as a result of increased glucose utilization by infected glia and neurons. Inflammatory infiltrates did not show augmented 14C-DG tissue uptake, and indeed regional isotope uptake declined in the later stages of infection as viral replication waned and necrosis developed. 14C-DG uptake was also depressed in uninfected brain regions that received afferents from the infected visual pathway.