Subarachnoid hemorrhage: a review of experimental studies on the microcirculation and the neurovascular unit

Michael K Tso1, R Loch Macdonald

  • 1Division of Neurosurgery, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada.

Increasingly, experimental research in subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) has investigated early brain injury and the microcirculation. A number of pathophysiological changes occur in the cerebral microvessels after SAH including altered vasoreactivity, vasoconstriction, inflammation, blood-brain barrier impairment, increased microthrombi, and inversion of neurovascular coupling. This focused review looks at the current state of knowledge regarding the changes that occur in the microcirculation and the neurovascular unit after SAH.