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Changes in relative levels of brain phosphates and intracellular pH at selected time intervals after total gamma-irradiation of a rat at a single dose of 6.5 or 300 Gy were studied by 31P NMR in vivo. Irradiation yielded only minor changes in the spectra. Irradiation at a dose of 6.5 Gy caused a reversible decrease in Pi and an alkaline pH shift of 0.2 units after day 1, with no change in ATP. The signal, which consisted of alpha-ATP, alpha-ADP, NAD+/NADH and diphosphodiesters, declined after day 6, possibly due to a fall in NAD+/NADH concentration. Irradiation at a dose of 300 Gy led to an increase in ATP from 10 to 13% of total phosphates after day 1. Homeostasis of brain energy metabolism was characterized by the Z-index (normalized sample correlation coefficients averaged over the correlation matrix for NMR-measured phosphomonoesters, Pi, pH, phosphocreatine, gamma-ATP+beta-ADP, alpha-ATP+alpha-ADP+NAD+/NADH+diphosphodiesters and beta-ATP). The Z value rose from -0.18 +/- 0.02 to -0.02 +/- 0.02 by day 6 or from -0.19 +/- 0.02 to -0.07 +/- 0.02 by day 1 after irradiation at a dose of 6.5 or 300 Gy, respectively. This may indicate a pathological state of brain energetics as a system and a decrease in its stability.

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