Increased extracellular levels of ascorbate in the striatum after middle cerebral artery occlusion in the rat monitored by intracerebral microdialysis

Extracellular (EC) ascorbate concentrations were measured in microdialysates from the striatum bilaterally in rats subjected to unilateral middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). The focal cerebral ischemia induced a dramatic increase in ascorbate on the ipsilateral (operated) side while the levels remained at the preocclusion level in the striatum of the contralateral (control) hemisphere. The possibility that ascorbate may aggravate ischemic neuronal damage by its proposed neuromodulatory properties and/or by its ability to induce lipid peroxidation is discussed.