Reduced incidence of cerebral ischemia following rupture of intracranial aneurysms.

A randomized study was carried out to determine if the administration of reserpine and kanamycin to lower the concentration of vasoactive biogenic monoamines would reduce the incidence of cerebral vascular ischemic complications and death following the rupture of intracranial aneurysms. Twenty-six treated and twenty-eight control (untreated) patients were studied. In the preoperative period, eight control (untreated) patients developed symptomatic cerebral ischemia as opposed to one treated patient. There was no correlation between the preoperative clinical findings of ischemia and angiographic evidence of vasospasm. In the post-operative period four control and one treated patient developed symptomatic cerebral ischemia; vasospasm, as demonstrated by cerebral angiography, paralleled these findings.