Age related changes in the effect of electroconvulsive shock on the blood brain barrier permeability in rats.

ABSTRACT

Age-related changes in blood-brain barrier permeability to macromolecules were investigated during electrically induced seizures. Evans-blue was used as the barrier tracer. There was no change in the permeability of the blood brain barrier associated with aging in the rats. However, the extravasation of Evans-blue albumin was most pronounced in the brain after ten repeated electroshocks in old rats. In the adult group that was given a single electroconvulsive shock, there was no coloration of the brain tissue, whereas the group given ten repeated electroconvulsive seizures showed slight staining of the thalamic nuclei, hypothalamus, and midbrain in 5 out of 13 rats. In 30-day-old rats, Evans-blue leakage was similar to that of adults, except that the frequency and intensity of blood-brain barrier breakdown was less after ten repeated electroshocks. In 15-day-old rats, the blood-brain barrier breakdown to Evans-blue albumin was the same after a single and ten electroshocks and the same in control and electroshocked rats. According to our results ten repeated electroshocks have a more pronounced effect on the old animals and have less effect on the young animals in comparison to adult ones.