Intracranial pressure, cerebral blood flow, and cerebrospinal fluid formation during hyperammonemia in cat

Intracranial pressure (ICP), cerebral blood flow (CBF), and the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) formation rate were examined in anesthetized cats during ammonia intoxication. Hyperammonemia, evoked by intravenous infusion of ammonium acetate, caused a significant increase in ICP when the arterial blood ammonia level exceeded 400 mumol X liter-1. A progressive elevation of blood ammonia concentration was followed by a gradual rise in CBF, measured by the xenon-133 clearance technique. At an arterial blood ammonia level exceeding 500 mumol X liter-1, the CBF reached a plateau at 30% above the mean control value. Increase in ICP correlated weakly, but significantly, with the increase in CBF (R = 0.489, p less than 0.005). Elevation of the arterial blood ammonia level to 780.4 +/- 25.5 mumol X liter-1 for 2 hours elicited a significant gradual increase in CSF formation rate, measured by the ventriculocisternal perfusion method with iodine-125-albumin as an indicator substance. A maximum increase in CSF flow of 81% was noted at the end of the ammonium acetate infusion. It is suggested that hyperammonemia increases ICP both by cerebral vasodilatation and by enhancement of the CSF formation rate.