Fig. 2

Hippocampal apoptosis and cortical damage during acute pneumococcal meningitis. Hippocampal apoptosis was most abundant in infant rats receiving CRO monotherapy. (a) Treatment with adjuvant Trocade and with combined adjuvant therapy significantly reduced hippocampal apoptosis. (b) Apoptotic cells in the subgranular zone of the dentate gyrus show condensed nuclei or formation of apoptotic bodies (white arrows). (c) Cortical necrosis was most prominently observed in animals receiving CRO monotherapy. Adjuvant daptomycin and combined adjuvant therapy significantly reduced cortical necrosis. (d) Cortical necrosis with reduced neuronal density is visible on cresyl violet stained brain sections. Foci of cortical necrosis are indicated by red lines. In a, the horizontal line depicts the sample mean and an unpaired t test was used for single comparison. In c, the horizontal line represents the sample median and a Mann-Whitney test was used for single comparison