title: Effect of intracisternal antithrombin III on subarachnoid hemorrhage-induced arterial narrowing.
abstract: The ability of antithrombin III, an endogenous plasma glycoprotein, to reverse the arterial narrowing in a rabbit model of cerebral vasospasm was evaluated. The vasodilator activity of antithrombin III on rabbit arteries was first assessed in vitro using a myograph-arterial ring preparation. Antithrombin III (10 IU/ml) induced a 55.4% +/- 2.66% (mean +/- standard error of the mean) relaxation in basilar artery precontracted with serotonin (5-HT) in five specimens as compared with a 9.8% +/- 1.6% relaxation of common carotid artery in six specimens. For in vivo analysis, 21 New Zealand White male rabbits were separated into three groups: Group 1 served as normal controls; Group 2 received a subarachnoid blood injection (SAH) and were sacrificed on Day 3 thereafter; and Group 3 animals were subjected to SAH, then received a 2-hour intracisternal infusion of antithrombin III (100 IU) in saline prior to sacrifice on Day 3. Basilar artery caliber was determined using a morphometric method to analyze perfusion-fixed arterial segments. Control basilar artery diameter in Group 1 was 0.64 +/- 0.02 mm. In Group 2 a 27% reduction in arterial caliber to 0.47 +/- 0.03 mm was observed by Day 3 post SAH (p less than 0.0001). Group 3 animals had a mean basilar artery diameter of 0.68 +/- 0.02 mm. This was significantly larger than the untreated SAH rabbits in Group 2 (p less than 0.0001), but not different from control artery diameters in Group 1. The findings demonstrate that antithrombin III in saline has a significant ability to reverse delayed narrowing of the rabbit basilar artery after SAH.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville.
authors.forename: D G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Vollmer
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hongo
authors.forename: N F
authors.initials: NF
authors.lastname: Kassell
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ogawa
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tsukahara
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Lehman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000990:Antithrombin III / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001488:Basilar Artery / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002946:Cisterna Magna / Q000503:physiopathology*; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007267:Injections; D008297:Male; D011817:Rabbits; D013345:Subarachnoid Hemorrhage / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014661:Vasoconstriction / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D000990:Antithrombin III