This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Ellison, M. D. Articles by Povlishock, J. T. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Ellison, M. D. Articles by Povlishock, J. T.

Stroke, Vol 20, 911-917, Copyright © 1989 by American Heart Association

ARTICLES

Recovery of impaired endothelium-dependent relaxation after fluid- percussion brain injury in cats

MD Ellison, DE Erb, HA Kontos and JT Povlishock
Department of Anatomy, Medical College of Virginia, Richmond 23298.

The effect of a moderate level of fluid-percussion brain injury on acetylcholine-induced cerebral arteriolar vasodilation was examined for 12 hours after trauma in anesthetized cats equipped with cranial windows. The cats were then perfused with aldehydes, and the pial arteries were prepared for electron microscopy. Immediately after brain injury, the normal vasodilator response to topical application of acetylcholine was converted to vasoconstriction. By 4 hours after trauma, the ability of small pial arterioles (diameters less than 100 microns) to dilate after acetylcholine application had returned to the pretrauma level and was observed to be normal at both 8 and 12 hours after trauma (p less than 0.05). The vasodilator response of large caliber arterioles (diameters greater than or equal to 100 microns) at 4, 8, and 12 hours after injury was reduced relative to the pretrauma response but was significantly improved relative to their response at 30 minutes after trauma (p less than 0.05). Moreover, the response of large vessels at 4, 8, and 12 hours in injured animals was equal to that observed in noninjured control animals assessed at 4, 8, and 12 hours after window implantation. At 12 hours after injury, the ultrastuctural characteristics of both large and small vessels resembled their preinjury state. These data suggest that the impairment of acetylcholine-induced endothelium-dependent relaxation observed in cats after fluid-percussion brain injury is not irreversible but returns to normal (small arterioles) or exhibits significant recovery (large arterioles) within 4 hours after injury.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. D. Kim, H. K. Shin, H. S. Lee, J. H. Lee, T. H. Lee, and K. W. Hong Gene transfer of Cu/Zn SOD to cerebral vessels prevents FPI-induced CBF autoregulatory dysfunction Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, May 1, 2002; 282(5): H1836 - H1842. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				F. M. FARACI and D. D. HEISTAD Regulation of the Cerebral Circulation: Role of Endothelium and Potassium Channels Physiol Rev, January 1, 1998; 78(1): 53 - 97. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. Kasemsri, W. M. Armstead, and L. J. Noble Endothelin Production Links Superoxide Generation to Altered Opioid-Induced Pial Artery Vasodilation After Brain Injury in Pigs Stroke, January 1, 1997; 28(1): 190 - 197. [Abstract] [Full Text]