Increased vulnerability of the blood-brain barrier to experimental subarachnoid hemorrhage in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

The influence of chronic arterial hypertension upon the permeability to albumin of the cerebral capillaries, i.e. the blood-brain barrier, was studied in normotensive Wistar and spontaneously hypertensive Wistar rats with experimental subarachnoid hemorrhage. The blood-brain barrier permeability to albumin was assessed quantitatively by spectrophotometric determination of Evans blue extravasation. Subarachnoid hemorrhage was produced by injecting autologous blood into the cortical subarachnoid space. A significant increase of Evans blue albumin extravasation was found in the spontaneously hypertensive rats with subarachnoid hemorrhage as compared with normotensive animals suffering from subarachnoid hemorrhage. Subarachnoid hemorrhage in this model alone caused a significant Evans blue extravasation, whereas sham-operation did not. These findings emphasize the necessity for effective attempts to reduce the leakage of the capillary system in the early stage of subarachnoid hemorrhage.