Effect of dopamine on cerebral circulation following occlusion of the middle cerebral artery in cats Department of Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine, Tokyo University

• Published in: Japanese Journal of Stroke Vol. 6; no. 3; pp. 241 - 248
• Main Authors: Takakura, Kintomo, Asano, Takao, Joshita, Hiroo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: The Japan Stroke Society 25.09.1984
• Subjects: Dopamine; focal cerebral ischemia; hydrogen clearance method; local cerebral blood flow; middle cerebral artery
• ISSN: 0912-0726; 1883-1923
• DOI: 10.3995/jstroke.6.241

The effect of dopamine hydrochloride (DA : Inovan (R) ) on the local cerebral blood flow (lCBF) of the cat brain following occlusion of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) was studied using the hydrogen clearance method. The administration of DA (10μg/kg/min) prior to MCA occlusion caused no change in the lCBF. In the contralateral hemisphere following MCA occlusion, DA in the employed doses (5, 10, and 15, μg/kg/min) caused no change in the lCBF. DA administration was not associated with any overt changes in the systemic arterial pressure except in the intermediate dose (10μg/kg/min) after MCA was occluded. In the affected hemisphere, the low dose of DA (5μg/kg/min) caused a significant increase in the lCBF (+ 16.3%) in the moderately reduced area where the lCBF became above 20 ml/100 g/min following MCA occlusion. The intermediate dose of DA (10μg/kg/min) showed no significant effect on the lCBF. Whereas the high dose of DA (15μg/kg/min) caused a significant decrease (-21.3%) of thelCBF in the severely reduced area where the lCBF became less than 20 ml/100 g/min following MCA occlusion. Thus, DA showed a biphasic effect on the lCBF only in the ischemic hemisphre. The vosodilatative and vasoconstrictive effect of DA may be attributed to the stimulation of the DA and alpha-adrenergic receptors of the cerebral artery, respectively. Nevertheless, the fact that the lCBF in the contralateral hemisphere was not at all affected by DA would indicate that the sensitivity of the cerebral artery to this compound may be changed by the ischemic insult.