The role of intravenous immunoglobulin in the treatment of cerebral vasospasm induced by subarachnoid haemorrhage: an experimental study.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine whether intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) prevents cerebral vasospasm in rabbits with induced subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH). The effect of IVIG on apoptosis in the endothelial cells of the basilar artery was also evaluated. METHODS: Eighteen New Zealand white rabbits were allocated randomly into three groups. SAH was induced by injecting autologous blood into the cisterna magna. Group 1, the control group, was subjected to sham surgery (no induction of SAH). Group 2 had SAH alone and Group 3 had SAH plus IVIG. Three days after treatment, the animals were sacrificed. The basilar artery tissues were analysed histologically and the malondialdehyde levels in the brain stem tissues were evaluated biochemically. RESULTS: Differences in the histopathological luminal areas and full wall thicknesses in the SAH plus IVIG group and the SAH group were statically insignificant (p > 0.005). The malondialdehyde level was also found to be lower in the IVIG group than in the SAH group, although this difference was not significant (p > 0.005). CONCLUSION: Although the IVIG treatment was revealed to have no vasodilator effect on the SAH-induced spastic basilar artery, it was shown to have a beneficial effect on the apoptosis of endothelial cells, probably via anti-inflammatory mechanisms.