Prostaglandin concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid of rabbits under normal and ischemic conditions

Clinical studies have demonstrated elevated levels of both arachidonic acid and prostaglandins in the cerebrospinal fluid of humans after ischemic stroke and subarachnoid hemorrhage. Such increases in free fatty acid, arachidonic acid, and prostaglandin concentrations suggest excessive production and accumulation of these substances in the ischemic brain. We used a rabbit model of ischemic infarction to examine the relation between controlled central nervous system ischemia and cerebrospinal fluid prostaglandin levels. We found that following stroke PGF2 alpha and not PGD2 was the predominant prostaglandin present in the cerebrospinal fluid. PGF2 alpha also underwent the largest percent increase over control prostaglandin concentrations. This is similar to human and dog cerebrospinal fluid studies, which demonstrate PGF2 alpha as the predominant prostaglandin following ischemic injury. The lack of PGD2 elevation under ischemic conditions may suggest that the rabbit model is more like stroke in humans than the rat or gerbil models. Our preliminary work demonstrates that it is practical to study postischemic prostaglandin changes in cerebrospinal fluid rather than in brain tissue in a rabbit model of central nervous system ischemia.