[Effect of sodium salicylate on the cerebral blood circulation (an experimental and clinical study)]

The effect of sodium salicylate (100 mg/kg intravenously) on the circulation rate of the cerebral blood flow, total arterial pressure, oxygen tension in the cerebral tissue (by the polarographic method) and on the pressure in the brain venous vessels was studied on anesthetized cats with controlled respiration. In rheumatic patients the action of the drug (10 ml of a 10% solution, intravenously) on the rheoencephalographic findings and the total arterial pressure was investigated. Sodium salicylate was shown to raise the tonicity of the intra- and extracranial vessels, to lower the amplitude of the pulse fluctuations and to highten the total arterial pressure. The cerebral circulation depends upon changes in the tonicity of the cerebral vessels and on the total arterial pressure, i. e. with a significant rise of the latter it increases in spite of a greater vascular resistance. Changes in the blood flow are followed by corresponding variations in the PO2 of the brain tissue. No significant changes of the pressure in the venous system of the brain could be established.