Figure 3. Apoptosis in the hippocampal dentate gyrus of survivors of bacterial meningitis was quantified in cryosections 42 h after infection.

(A) LiCl treatment reduced apoptosis significantly compared to littermates treated with NaCl. (B) Hippocampal apoptosis was significantly attenuated in animals with lithium serum concentrations ≥0.4 mmol/l compared to NaCl treated littermates. (C) A dose-dependent effect of LiCl on hippocampal apoptosis is observed (r = −0.43, p<0.001, n = 55). (C) Lithium serum concentration and apoptosis in infected rats treated with 2–63 mg/kg LiCl correlate weakly (r = −0.28, p = 0.04, n = 55). (Boxes extend from the 25th to 75th percentiles and include median; +, mean; whiskers, minimum to maximum value; *, p<0.05).