1985 Volume 17 Issue 4 Pages 325-329
There is a general agreement that ACTH is most beneficial for the treatment of infantile spasms. However, it has been found that transient brain shrinkage demonstrated by computed tomography occurs during ACTH therapy. A decrease in the water content of the brain may be one of the causative factors. In this study we examined the effect of ACTH on the water content of rat brains, by a gas chromatographic determination.
Rats with ACTH injections at the early neonatal period showed a significant decrease of the brain water content (P<0.01).
This study indicated that ACTH might interfere with the growth of the neonatal brain, and reconsideration of ACTH therapy was suggested.
