Experimental catecholamine-induced chronic cerebral vasospasm

Abstract

✓ The authors report a new experimental model for the study of delayed intracranial arterial spasm in monkeys. The injection of norepinephrine into the prepontine cistern produces an intense immediate vasospasm that disappears in minutes and is followed by a second stage of vasospasm that persists for 8 to 10 days. Electronmicroscopic examinations of the basilar artery removed during the second stage of this spasm reveal myonecrosis of the media, with fragmentation of myofibrils, dissolution of the sarcolemma, and interstitial edema.