Evaluation of the role hemoglobin in cerebrospinal fluid plays in producing contractions of cerebral arteries.
Many investigators have concluded that hemoglobin is the spasmogen responsible for cerebral vasospasm. The present study was designed to ascertain whether the contractile responses of isolated canine basilar arteries to xanthochromic cerebrospinal fluid from subarachnoid hemorrhage patients was associated with hemoglobin concentration as measured spectrophotometrically. The results clearly showed that spasmogenicity and hemoglobin content were not correlated. The magnitude and duration of the arterial responses varied greatly, further indicating that more than a single factor was responsible. The potent antagonistic, vasodilator effect of such proteins as antithrombin III may account for some of the variation, but the results directly complement clinical findings of others indicating that hemoglobin is not the singular cause of cerebral vasospasm.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D000990:Antithrombin III / Q000502:physiology; D001488:Basilar Artery / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology; D002536:Cerebral Arteries / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D002546:Ischemic Attack, Transient / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000503:physiopathology*; D007537:Isometric Contraction / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009131:Muscle, Smooth, Vascular / Q000187:drug effects; D010108:Oxyhemoglobins / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000502:physiology; D013345:Subarachnoid Hemorrhage / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid* / Q000503:physiopathology
D006454:Hemoglobins; D010108:Oxyhemoglobins; D000990:Antithrombin III