[Modification of intracranial pressure by urapidil following experimental cold lesions in the cat]

The action of the antihypertensive agent Urapidil was investigated in an experimental animal model of vasogenic brain oedema. Animals with normal or raised intracranial pressure received Urapidil as a bolus injection (0.25 mg/kg body weight) followed by a continuous infusion of Urapidil (1 mg/kg body weight). The bolus injection of the drug was followed by a sharp fall in systemic blood pressure, paralleled by a rise in intracranial pressure, resulting in a shortlasting decline of cerebral perfusion pressure. During continuous infusion of Urapidil in both groups with normal or elevated ICP there was a long-lasting significant fall in the systemic blood pressure without any significant alteration of the intracranial pressure.