Toxicity of hypocalcemia to developing brain: Animal experiment and in vitro cell culture

• Main Authors: Cheng-Hung Huang, 黃正宏
• Other Authors: 葉健全
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2008
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/69386735962487525389

碩士 === 臺北醫學大學 === 臨床醫學研究所 === 96 === In clinics, hypocalcaemia induces severe neurological symptom in newborn babies, including tremor, weakness, and seizure. In adults, the symptom is mild, manifesting as muscle spasm of hands and feet. However, the long-term sequels of hypocalcaemia in developing brain are not known and have not been carefully characterized, both in clinics and research. Therefore, this study was aimed to determine the effect of hypocalcaemia on the rat primary cortical cell culture and to establish a neonatal animal model with long-term prenatal exposure to hypocalcaemia condition. Our data revealed that reduced calcium concentration in the culture medium produced a concentration-dependent neurotoxicity. Addition of EGTA in medium containing normal concentration of calcium produced similar effect. Such toxicity effect is partially affected by the different type of medium used. Apparently most of cell died in necrosis manner. Addition of magnesium in the medium reduced the toxicity of hypocalcaemia. In addition, this study showed the pregnant rats that long-term fed with low calcium alone did not decrease the serum calcium level, but injection of calcitonin did produce a transient hypocalcaemia condition. Rat born to dams’ rat received low calcium diet and injection of calcitonin had lower birth weight, lower body weight gain, lower body length growth and higher frequency of spontaneous myoclonus activity as compared to the rats born to dams’ rat received normal saline injection. This result revealed hypocalcaemia-induced neurotoxicity, yet its mechanism required future study. In addition, the results of animal study provide a preliminary data in knowing whether prenatal exposure to hypocalcaemia could cause impact on the development of brain in the offspring. .