Dr. Keith A. Kattner, D.O.
Adjunct Professor, Department of Biology, Illinois State University
Director, Cerebrovascular and Skull Base Surgery Central Illinois Neuroscience Foundation
STROKE RESEARCH LABORATORY
Reperfusion Injury in Aged Rats
Temporary artery occlusion, stopping the flow of blood through an artery, is a technique routinely used during intraoperative aneurysm surgery. This procedure is designed to control hemorrhage from intraoperative rupture and allows the neurosurgeon easier dissection of the aneurysm. Despite these advantages, temporary artery occlusion induces focal ischemia that, if prolonged, may result in cerebral infarction (stroke). In this project, we are studying whether intermittent reperfusion of the artery (allowing the blood to flow through the artery at regular intervals) or uninterrupted occlusion of the artery causes more damage. How is this evaluated? The rats are given an MRI two days following the operation to check for radiographic evidence of stroke and the volume of ischemic tissue is compared.
Intermittent Reperfusion: Assessment of Cerebral Edema by T2-Weighted MRI
T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been shown to be accurate in predicting the amount of infarct up to six hours in the permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo) model. However, the two-hour continuous occlusion (CO) model had an increase in volume on MRI when compared to the actual infarct size at six hours suggesting increased edema. The purpose of this research is to identify the relationship of intermittent reperfusion with edema and infarct size using the intraluminal thread model. This is studied by comparing the percent hemispheric infarct size between two groups. One group undergoes varying occlusion times with intermittent reperfusion while the other group undergoes a two-hour continuous occlusion. T2-weighted MR imaging is performed six hours post-operatively and is followed immediately by sectioning and staining with 2,3,5-Triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC). Infarct sizes are then calculated and compared.
