[Effect of intracarotid injection of neuropeptide Y (NPY) on cerebral blood flow in rats and possible application of NPY to the selective drug chemotherapy for brain tumor].

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) was continuously administered to Wistar rats in the normal and glioma bearing conditions intracarotidly via the external carotid artery and local cerebral blood flow (LCBF) was measured by a [14C] iodoantipyrine technique. In the normal rats, the LCBF at the injecting side of NPY markedly reduced in 2 minutes after beginning of drug administration. In glioma-bearing rats, LCBF in the cerebral cortex and caudate nucleus reduced to the same level as normal rats. However reduction of LCBF in the tumor was not significantly different from that of ipsilateral cortex and caudate nucleus. The results of this study suggest that flow moduration by NPY injection increases delivery of intra-carotid administered anticancer drugs to the brain tumor with concomitant decrease of neurotoxicity to the normal brain.