Effects of indomethacin and prostacyclin on isolated human pial arteries contracted by CSF from patients with aneurysmal SAH.

In small human cerebral arteries preincubated with indomethacin, contractions induced by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), from patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage were markedly increased. Also contractions induced by noradrenaline, but not 5-hydroxytryptamine, were augmented. Prostacyclin and its metabolite 6-keto-prostaglandin (PG)E1 reversed the contractions induced by CSF, as well as by noradrenaline, 5-hydroxytryptamine, and PGF2 alpha. The findings suggest that these substances are able to counteract the influence of vasoconstrictor material in hemorrhagic CSF. If the capacity to synthesize these "protective" arachidonic acid metabolites is reduced, the resulting imbalance between contractile and relaxant forces acting on the vessel wall may lead to sustained cerebral vasoconstriction.