Cyclosporine A reduces cerebral vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage in dogs.

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Abstract
The double subarachnoid hemorrhage canine model was used to test the prophylactic value of immunosuppression in the prevention of cerebral vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage. Dogs treated with cyclosporine A following the regimen prescribed for organ transplant procedures in patients showed a significant reduction in the severity of angiographic constriction of cerebral arteries. While basilar artery diameter after double experimental subarachnoid hemorrhage in a series of untreated dogs (n = 34) averaged 65% of baseline diameter, arterial diameter in dogs treated prophylactically (n = 18) with 6 mg/kg/day cyclosporine A and adjunct low-dose steroid averaged 80% of baseline diameter, for a mean reduction in the severity of chronic arterial constriction of 42%. More important than the average effect, however, is the statistical observation that this mean improvement was obtained primarily by a dramatic reduction in the incidence of severe cerebral vasospasm, the situation most likely to account for morbidity and mortality after aneurysmal rupture.