Pathologic Changes in a Rabbit Model of Reye's Syndrome

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Abstract
Summary: Continuous infusion of the short-chain fatty acid sodium octanoate into rabbits produces pathologic changes after 4 h. Principal abnormalities include microvesicular fatty accumulation in liver, and to a lesser extent in kidney, heart, and lungs. Ultrastructural changes include swelling and pleiomorphism of mitochondria in liver, and less consistently swelling of astrocytic food processes in brain, suggesting early cerebral edema. These changes are similar to the pathologic abnormalities observed in patients with Reye's syndrome. Speculation: Infusion of the short-chain fatty acid anion, octanoate, into rabbits reproduces the major clinical, biochemical, and pathologic changes observed in Reye's syndrome, and thus serves as a suitable experimental model for the human disease.