This study examined the changes in cerebral blood flow, water content, and lipoxygenase metabolites (leukotrienes) following bilateral carotid artery occlusion (BCO) and reperfusion in the gerbil. The effect of inhibiting lipoxygenase with nordihydroguaretic acid (NDGA) was also examined. BCO caused cerebral blood flow (measured using H2 clearance) to decline from 23.5 +/- 1.9 to 4.5 +/- 1.9 ml/min/100 gm. Reperfusion increased flow to 27.9 +/- 4 ml/min/100 gm at 10 min, which declined to 13.7 +/- 1.3 ml/min/100 gm at 50 min. Concomitant oedema measurement revealed brain specific gravity decreasing to 1.0402 +/- 0.0014 at 10 min and to 1.0325 +/- 0.0006 at 50 min reperfusion (nonoccluded controls). Leukotriene B4 (LTB4) increased from 26.8 +/- 4.6 to 33.5 +/- 2.1 pg/mg protein 10 min after reperfusion (p less than 0.05), but declined to 21.8 +/- pg/mg protein by 100 min (vs nonischaemic control = 21.3 +/- 2.9 pg/mg protein). Activation of arachidonate metabolism was confirmed by significantly increased 6 keto PGF1 alpha. Pretreatment of the animals with NDGA did not alter CBF, but increased specific gravity above saline-treated controls at 50 min of reperfusion (NDGA = 1.0370 +/- 0.002 vs control = 1.0325 +/- 0.0006, p less than 0.05). Similarly, NDGA blunted the increase in LTB4 formation 10 min after reperfusion (control = 26.8 +/- 4.6 pg/mg protein vs NDGA = 29.7 +/- 2.9 pg/mg protein, p = N.S.). These findings indicate that LTB4 production is stimulated by BCO and reperfusion in the gerbil, and that this stimulation occurs early on in the reperfusion. Further, we observe that the lipoxygenase inhibitor NDGA limits the formation of ischaemic cerebral oedema.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)