CEREBRAL BLOOD-FLOW AND ISCHEMIA-INDUCED NEUROTRANSMITTER RELEASE IN THE STRIATUM OF AGED SPONTANEOUSLY HYPERTENSIVE RATS

Background and Purpose: We found age-related vulnerability to cerebral ischemia in the hippocampus and striatum in spontaneously hypertensive rats. Further study revealed that ischemia-induced release of hippocampal taurine, an inhibitory amino acid, was reduced by 40% in aged rats compared with adult rats, which suggested an impaired inhibitory function against excitotoxicity in aged rats. The purpose of this study was to examine whether ischemia-induced neurotransmitter release is altered in the striatum of aged spontaneously hypertensive rats. Methods: Five adult (5-6 months) and five aged (18-22 months) female spontaneously hypertensive rats were subjected to 20 minutes of cerebral ischemia induced by bilateral carotid artery occlusions and 120 minutes of recirculation under amobarbital anesthesia (100 mg/kg i.p.). Cerebral blood flow was determined using the hydrogen clearance method, and extracellular concentrations of neurotransmitters were determined with the brain dialysis technique in the striatum. Results: During ischemia, cerebral blood flow in aged rats decreased to 8.7+/-1.2 (mean+/-SEM) mL/100 g per minute (11% of the resting), which was not different from 5.2+/-1.7 mL/100 g per minute (8% of the resting) in adult rats, and extracellular dopamine and amino acids (glutamate, aspartate, and taurine) increased by approximately 170- and 10-30-fold, respectively, and returned to baseline after 20-40 minutes of recirculation. These values of neurotransmitters, however, were not different between aged and adult rats during ischemia and reperfusion. Conclusions: It is unlikely that a presynaptic mechanism is involved in age-related vulnerability in the striatum of hypertensive rats.