Cerebral blood flow and ischemia-induced neurotransmitter release in the striatum of aged spontaneously hypertensive rats.

We found age-related vulnerability to cerebral ischemia in the hippocampus and striatum in spontaneously hypertensive rats. Further study revealed that ischemia-induced release of hippocampal taurine, an inhibitory amino acid, was reduced by 40% in aged rats compared with adult rats, which suggested an impaired inhibitory function against excitotoxicity in aged rats. The purpose of this study was to examine whether ischemia-induced neurotransmitter release is altered in the striatum of aged spontaneously hypertensive rats.Five adult (5-6 months) and five aged (18-22 months) female spontaneously hypertensive rats were subjected to 20 minutes of cerebral ischemia induced by bilateral carotid artery occlusions and 120 minutes of recirculation under amobarbital anesthesia (100 mg/kg i.p.). Cerebral blood flow was determined using the hydrogen clearance method, and extracellular concentrations of neurotransmitters were determined with the brain dialysis technique in the striatum.During ischemia, cerebral blood...