Mechanism of Hemoglobin-Induced Spasm in the Isolated Middle Cerebral Artery of the Cat

Abstract

Cerebral vasospasm is frequently associated with subarachnoid hemorrhage. Despite extensive efforts to identify measures to dilate the narrowed arteries, no reliable method exists for preventing or reversing vasospasm(Tanishima, 1980; Wellum et al., 1980: Awad et al., 1987; Nakagomi et al., 1987; Schuier and Ulrich, 1987). One of the major reasons for this inadequacy is the lack of understanding the pathomechanism of vasospasm. Although the cause of vasospasm following subarachnoid hemorrhage is likely to be multifactorial, the present study was focused on the possible involvement of calcium mobilizing vascular smooth muscle receptors and neural mechanisms in the spastic effect of hemoglobin in the middle cerebralartery.