A MODIFIED-MODEL OF REVERSIBLE MIDDLE CEREBRAL-ARTERY EMBOLIZATION IN RATS WITHOUT CRANIECTOMY

A detailed description is given of a new model of reversible focal cerebral ischaemia in rats. A spherical embolus, attached to the end of an 8-0 surgical thread was injected into the middle cerebral artery (MCA) via the external and internal carotid arteries (ECA and ICA) and could be withdrawn by pulling the extravascular portion of the thread when reperfusion was to follow ischaemia. In contrast to similar techniques, the 8-0 thread did not block blood flow in either the common carotid artery (CCA) or the ICA during ischaemia and, as the CCA did not have to be ligated, flow could be restored via the ipsilateral CCA and ICA after the ischaemic period. Neurological deficit, mortality rate, tissue water content, regional pH, ATP and, in some experiments, electroencephalogram (EEG) and cerebral blood flow (CBF) were evaluated in ischaemia and after various length of reperfusion. The overall mortality rate was 21%, all these animals were lost in the first hours of recirculation. The water content of their brains differed significantly from those who survived 24 hours (81 and 77% respectively). A significant difference in CBF of the ipsi- and contralateral putamen was found immediately after embolization (a CBF decrease of 26 +/- 5 and 5 +/- 5 ml/100 g/min, respectively), and relative hyperperfusion (+23 +/- 27 ml/100 g/min) was observed in the ipsilateral putamen during reperfusion. EEG amplitude declined on both the affected and non-affected sides after embolization (to 54 +/- 8% and 71 +/- 6% of pre-ischaemic values) and remained decreased (66 +/- 8% of control) on the ipsilateral side after 1 hour of reperfusion. Embolization resulted in tissue acidosis and ATP depletion predominantly in the somatosensory cortex, caudoto-putamen, internal capsule, anterior thalamus and hippocampus. The spatial extent of metabolic alterations increased in the first two hours of recirculation, then decreased by 24 hours, together with the improvement of clinical signs. Providing a better model for human embolic strokes this model is suggested for studying consequences of reversible focal ischaemia.