Microdialysis perfusion increases the sensitivity of rat striatal neurons to ischemic insult

Brief periods of global forebrain ischemia which never produced striatal cell loss in control, non-dialyzed striatum resulted in significant cell loss in the contralateral, dialyzed striatum. No striatal cell loss was seen following these short periods of ischemia in animals implanted with dialysis probes that were not perfused. Dialysis perfusion alters striatal extracellular fluid composition in such a way as to render this tissue more sensitive to brief ischemic insult.