Effect of acute and chronic reduction of cerebral blood flow on glucose metabolite levels in SHRSP.

Glucose metabolites in the rat brain were measured under various stages of ischemia. In acute ischemia induced by bilateral carotid artery ligation, phosphocreatine and ATP levels were significantly decreased and lactate levels were significantly increased in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP). These extreme changes were not observed in normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY) and stroke-resistant spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSR), under the same conditions. In chronic ischemia induced by long-lasting regional cerebral blood flow reduction due to severe hypertension, similar changes were observed only in SHRSP at the advanced stage. The levels of glucose metabolites in the brain were confirmed to be well maintained within control ranges even though the cerebral tissues were subjected to the chronic ischemia related to severe hypertension.