Chronic diabetes followed by chronic cerebral ischemia induced by bilateral carotid artery ligation in arteriosclerotic versus nonarteriosclerotic rats.

Male and female, arteriosclerotic (breeder) and nonarteriosclerotic (virgin), Sprague-Dawley rats were made severely diabetic with alloxan. Two weeks later experimental animals had both carotid arteries ligated to induce a state of acute cerebral ischemia. After six weeks of cerebral ischemia either with or without severe diabetes the animals were killed. Animals which survived either the acute induction of diabetes or cerebral ischemia did not manifest any new episodes of cerebral ischemia. Subjects with combined diabetes and cerebral ischemia manifested the greatest loss in body weight, adrenal hypertrophy and thymus gland involution, increased levels of serum CPK and SGOT, but decreased SGPT and LDH, hyperglycemia and hypertriglyceridemia, and the most extensive cerebral edema. It is suggested that diabetic rats may have a greater predilection toward cerebrovascular accidents because the diabetic state contributes not only to an exacerbation of atherosclerosis, but also complicates any condition of cerebrovascular ischemia by creating extracerebral edema.