Role of potassium channels in the central neurogenic neuroprotection elicited by cerebellar stimulation in rat.

Electrical stimulation of the cerebellar fastigial nucleus (FN) in spontaneously hypertensive (SHR), Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) and Fisher rats reduced, by approximately 50%, the infarctions produced by occlusion of the middle cerebral artery. Blockade of ATP-dependent potassium (K-ATP) channels with glibenclamide (i.c.v.) abolished salvage only in the SHR rat. While blockade of K-ATP channels failed to abolish salvage in WKY and Fisher rats, participation of potassium channels in neurogenic neuroprotection cannot be excluded.