Metrizamide--a potential in vivo inhibitor of glucose metabolism.

Metrizamide used as a contrast medium for examination of the subarachnoid space and its contents may produce adverse reactions, but the mechanism for these reactions is not certain. The present study demonstrated a depression of glucose metabolism in rat neural tissue by metrizamide. Sixteen paired experiments using hippocampal tissue from rats showed a depression of glucose metabolism of 24.4 +/- 4.78%. This depression was significant (p less than 0.001) and was not related to a dilutional or hypertonic effect. The depression occurred at about the same time that adverse reactions are seen in patients, suggesting that the adverse reactions may be related to inhibition of glucose metabolism in the central nervous system.