Cerebral Blood Flow Levels During Experimental Ischemic Stroke Influence the Magnitude of Post-Reperfusion Blood-Brain Barrier Opening But Reperfusion After 3 Hours Does Not Reverse the Damage

Robert A. Knight^1,2, Kishor Karki¹, Vijaya Nagesh¹, James R. Ewing^1,2, Joseph D. Fenstermacher³, Tavarekere N. Nagaraja³

This report tests the hypothesis that the degree of the initial drop in CBF in stroke and the extent of later reperfusion determine the ensuing damage to the BBB. The data obtained suggest that the severity of the acute BBB lesion in reversible cerebral ischemia is determined mainly by the drop in CBF during the first several hours of occlusion and partly support the hypothesis. However, reperfusion after 3 h of occlusion did little to alleviate the damage.