Experimental subarachnoid hemorrhage: events related to anti-oxidant enzymatic systems and eicosanoid peroxide enhancement.

Experimental and clinical studies have emphasized the role of free radicals in the pathogenesis of vasospasm and neurological dysfunction after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Increases in both enzymatic (arachidonic acid cascade and eicosanoid peroxide production) and non-enzymatic (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances production) lipid peroxidation were found, pointing out the key role of arachidonic acid cascade in impairing membrane functionality in the post-hemorrhage brain. The aim of this work is to investigate whether a correlation exists between time-dependent modifications of eicosanoid peroxide production ("ex vivo" release of leukotriene C4 = LTC4) and antioxidant enzymatic systems in the brain after experimental subarachnoid hemorrhage in the rat. The release of the LTC4 is significantly enhanced at 1, 6 and 48 hours after SAH induction. Cu-Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity is significantly reduced at 6 and 48 hours after SAH induction; Mn-SOD activity is significantly affected at 1, 6 and 48 hours after the hemorrhage. GSH-Px activity is significantly reduced only in the late phase (48 hours) after SAH. The linear regression of statistical analysis, performed to investigate any possible relationship among time-dependent modifications shows that the "ex vivo" release of LTC4 is significantly related to the decreasing trend of MnSOD activity (p < 0.001). The present results suggest that after SAH, a deficit in endogenous anti-oxidant defenses may play a role in making the brain more susceptible to lipid peroxidative events.