Abstract
Large and small cerebral arteries dilate in response to acetylcholine both in vitro and in vivo (Kuschinsky et al., 1974; Owman et al., 1974; Lee, 1982; Kontos et al., 1984). This response is caused by stimulation of muscarinic receptors, and it is blocked by atropine (Kuschinsky et al., 1974; Lee, 1982). With the single exception of the posterior auricular artery of the cat (Brayden and Bevan, 1985), in all other arteries tested the vasodilator response to acetylcholine is endothelium-dependent (Furchgott, 1983). In all these vessels it was shown that acetylcholine produces vasodilatation by an indirect mechanism mediated by an initial action on the endothelium, which results in the release of an unidentified vasodilator agent, endothelium-derived relaxant factor (EDRF), which then diffuses to the vascular smooth muscle and causes relaxation (Furchgott, 1983). The vasodilator responses to acetylcholine in the cerebral vessels, therefore, suggest strongly the presence of endothelium-dependent vasodilatation.
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Kontos, H.A. (1988). Endothelium-Dependent Vasodilatation in the Cerebral Microcirculation. In: Vanhoutte, P.M. (eds) Relaxing and Contracting Factors. The Endothelium. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-4588-9_20
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-4588-9_20
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