Further studies on histamine in spinal cord injury and post traumatic hyperemia

Using the hydrogen clearance method, focal spinal cord blood flow was measured in the lateral funiculus of Rhesus monkeys traumatized with a 600 gm cm injury to T10, pretreated with either chlorpheniramine or metiamide. The blood flow in the chlropheniramine treated animals either rose slightly or remained in the normal range. That in the metiamide treated animals remained in the normal range at all times in all animals. On the basis of these results we can further define the previously observed post traumatic lateral white matter hyperemia as mainly an H2 histamine related phenomenon.