Progressive postnatal dilation of brain ventricles in spontaneously hypertensive rats

Cross-sectional areas of the forebrain ventricles were measured from coronal sections in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) 4, 8, 12, 16, 21 and 56 weeks of age and in age-matched Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) and Sprague-Dawley (SD) normotensive rats. Progressive ventricular dilation and associated attrition of brain tissue was observed in SHRs of both sexes after 4 weeks of age, and was present in animals obtained from two different suppliers. In some SHRs, ventricle size was increased to 270% of control. Hence, it seems likely that some systemic and behavioral signs which are concomitant with hypertension in the SHR may be attributable to hydrocephalus and its neuropathological correlates.