Cerebrospinal Pressure, Hydrocephalus and Blood Pressure in the Cat Following Intracisternal Injection of Colloidal Kaolin

Certain animals develop an increased intracranial pressure associated with vascular hypertension following the intracisternal injection of colloidal kaolin. This syndrome was first described in the dog by Heller1 and his associates, and recently confirmed by Jeffers, Lindauer and Lukens.2 A similar response in the white rat has been described by Griffith, Jeffers, and Lindauer,3,4 and Griffith and Roberts.5 They found that the cerebrospinal pressure, normally less that 100 mm of water, was increased to about 260 mm, while the blood pressure, normally below 140 mm of mercury, ranged between 150 and 300 mm. At necropsy internal hydrocephalus was found in rats that had survived a month or more. The present report deals with similar studies in cats.The method for measuring blood pressure was that described by Griffith and Collins6 for man and by Griffith7 for the rat. It consists in encircling the upper part of a limb with a blood pressure cuff constructed of appropriate size, while blood flow is observed thr...