Age related changes in the effect of electroconvulsive shock on the blood brain barrier permeability in rats.
Age-related changes in blood-brain barrier permeability to macromolecules were investigated during electrically induced seizures. Evans-blue was used as the barrier tracer. There was no change in the permeability of the blood brain barrier associated with aging in the rats. However, the extravasation of Evans-blue albumin was most pronounced in the brain after ten repeated electroshocks in old rats. In the adult group that was given a single electroconvulsive shock, there was no coloration of the brain tissue, whereas the group given ten repeated electroconvulsive seizures showed slight staining of the thalamic nuclei, hypothalamus, and midbrain in 5 out of 13 rats. In 30-day-old rats, Evans-blue leakage was similar to that of adults, except that the frequency and intensity of blood-brain barrier breakdown was less after ten repeated electroshocks. In 15-day-old rats, the blood-brain barrier breakdown to Evans-blue albumin was the same after a single and ten electroshocks and the same in control and electroshocked rats. According to our results ten repeated electroshocks have a more pronounced effect on the old animals and have less effect on the young animals in comparison to adult ones.
Oztas
B
B
Department of Physiology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, University of Istanbul, Capa, Turkey.
Kaya
M
M
Camurcu
S
S
D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001812:Blood-Brain Barrier / Q000502:physiology*; D002463:Cell Membrane Permeability / Q000502:physiology; D004597:Electroshock; D005070:Evans Blue; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012640:Seizures / Q000503:physiopathology
D005070:Evans Blue