The effect of arterial hypertension of focal ischemic edema. An experimental study.

The middle cerebral artery (MCA) of cats was occluded permanently for 24h to study the influence of arterial hypertension during the early phase of focal ischemia upon the development of edema and changes of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). In normotensive animals MCA occlusion results in a hemispheric weight increase of about 8% and marked water and electrolyte alterations in both the grey and white matter of the MCA territory. The RISA space increases mainly in the grey matter. Hypertension aggravates these changes significantly, whereby water and electrolyte changes in the grey matter are predominantly concerned, while there is a preferential increase of the RISA space in the white matter. It is suggested that arterial hypertension aggravates the ischemic edema and enhances a vasogenic type of edema in the white matter.