1987 Volume 9 Issue 1 Pages 37-42
In order to examine the effect of experimental subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) on the autonomic nervous system of the cerebral arteries, changes in the diameter of the vesicles were investigated in the perivascular nerve terminals.
SAH was induced by injection of autologous blood into the cisterna magna of 15 cats. The animals were divided into three groups (each consisting of 5 cats) and were sacrificed at 6 hours, 1 week and 2 weeks following SAH by perfusion of 2.5% glutaraldehyde 15 minutes after injection of 5-hydroxydopamine (5 mg/kg). Sections were taken from the middle cerebral artery (MCA) and the vertebral artery (VA) and were prepared for electron microscopic examination. The diameter of two types of vesicles, i.e., dense cored and clear vesicles, was measured by means of an image analyzer. Fifteen sham-operated cats were treated in the same way and served as a control groups.
After SAH the size of both dense cored and clear vesicles decreased significantly as compared with those in the control group both in MCA and in VA. This change was particularly prominent at 6 hours and 2 weeks after SAH. These findings suggest that SAH affects the autonomic nervous system controlling the cerebral arteries and that neurogenic factors may contribute to the emergence of pathological conditions such as cerebral vasospasm.
