The activity of glutamate decarboxylase and the turnover of gamma-aminobutyric acid in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

The activity of glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) in the whole brain, hypothalamus, cerebellum, as well as in the brain after excision of the hypothalamus and cerebellum, is significantly lower in hypertensive rats (SHR) than in normotensive ones (NR). Moreover, the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) turnover rate is lower in the whole brain in SHR. The obtained results indicate that in the arterial hypertension the activity of GABA-ergic system is impaired.