title: Endothelial-cell injury of the basilar artery caused by ethanol infusion in dogs.
abstract: This study in mongrel dogs was designed to observe the effects of ethanol on both endothelial cells of the basilar artery and brain function. By use of sterile surgical technique, a super-selective catheter was placed in the proximal portion of the basilar artery in the dogs. Five dogs received 3 ml of 25% ethanol and 5 dogs received 3 ml of 50% of ethanol through the catheter over 2 minutes. The remaining 5 dogs received 3 ml of saline as a control. Auditory brain stem response (ABR) was monitored for 2 hours after ethanol infusion, and then perfusion-fixation was performed from the heart with 4% paraformaldehyde. The basilar artery was observed with scanning electron microscopy after routine procedures. The endothelial cells were intact in the control group. The 50% group showed a higher level of injury to the endothelium as well as a higher degree of platelet adhesion and fibrin clot formation compared with the 25% group. The extensive endothelial-cell damage subsequently caused thrombus formation. The ABR disappeared immediately after ethanol infusion in both ethanol groups, and recovered gradually in the 25% group, but did not re-appear during the time course of 2 hours in the 50% group. The ethanol less than 25% in concentration near the endothelium is considered to be safe as a transcatheter embolic agent with the attention to the central toxicity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Fukui Medical School, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ide
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kabuto
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Handa
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kubota
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001488:Basilar Artery / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000098:blood supply / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D004285:Dogs; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004621:Embolization, Therapeutic; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D000431:Ethanol / Q000633:toxicity*; D016057:Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005337:Fibrin / Q000378:metabolism; D007261:Infusions, Intra-Arterial; D008297:Male; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D010973:Platelet Adhesiveness / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol; D005337:Fibrin