Endothelin participates in regulating the vascular tone, and it is also involved in the pathogenesis of vasospasm following subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Endothelin-1 (ET-1) induced cerebral vasospasm is inhibited by ETA receptors specific antagonist-BQ-123; this protects the neurons from ischemic damage. The present study evaluates the dynamics of ET-1 concentration changes in the plasma of rats in the acute phase of vasospasm after SAH, which was induced by administering 100 microliters

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... eparinized fresh autologous arterial blood into the brain cisterna magna (CM). The study also assesses the effect of blocking ETA receptors on the changes in ET-1 level. BQ-123, the specific ETA receptors antagonist, was administered to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) through a cannula inserted into CM; the antagonist-40 nmol in 50 microliters CSF-was given 20 minutes prior to SAH. In the control group, sham SAH was induced by administering 100 microliters artificial CSF (aCSF) to CM. ET-1 concentration in the plasma of rats in the acute phase of vasospasm was assessed by radioimmunoassay 30 and 60 minutes after SAH or sham SAH. It has been showed that both SAH and sham SAH cause significant increase in the ET-1 concentration (pϽ0.05) in the rat plasma after 30 minutes; the concentration returns to an initial value after following 30 minutes, which may suggest that ET-1 released binds to its receptors in the acute phase of the vasospasm. On the other hand, in the two groups of rats with blocked ETA receptors there was a significant rise in ET-1 concentration 30 minutes after SAH or sham SAH, and a still further rise was observed 60 minutes after the procedure. The rise was significantly higher in animals with SAH (pϽ0.05). The dynamics of the ET-1 concentration changes observed in rats with blocked ETA receptor suggests that SAH is an ET-1 production stimulator significantly more potent than other factors assessed in the study, such as a rise in the intracranial pressure resulting from administering a CSF to CM. Blocking ETA receptors makes it impossible for the ET-1 released to bind to the receptors, which may be a factor preventing the occurrence of cerebral vasospasm following SAH. In order to clarify the effect of clot lysis by recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) on the brain lipid peroxidation, we measured phosphatidylcholine hydroperoxide (PCOOH) and phosphatidylethanolamine hydroperoxide (PEOOH) levels in a primate model of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Monkeys were assigned into two groups; a tPA-treated group receiving intrathecal injections of 0.02 mg tPA, and a placebo-treated group receiving saline. The tPA or placebo was injected into the right side of the basal cistern every 8 h for 6 days following bilateral SAH induction. The tPA cleared the right side clots (pϽ0.0001), but not the left side clots. The degree of vasospasm in the right middle cerebral artery and the rCBF decrease in the right parietal cortex were significantly attenuated in the tPA group (pϽ0.05). In the placebo group, more severe vasospasm and marked rCBF reduction were noted in comparison with those in the tPA group. PCOOH levels in the parietal cortex were significantly higher in the placebo group than in the tPA group (pϽ0.05). There were no significant changes in brain PEOOH levels. These results may explain the limitations for clinical application of unilateral intrathecal administration of tPA.