Purpose: Our study is focused on the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) observation of lesion development and hippocampus related functional impairments in rats after irradiation with a Leksell Gamma knife (LGK).
Materials and methods: We exposed 32 three-month-old Long-Evans rats to various radiation doses (25 Gy, 50 Gy or 75 Gy). The rats were scanned by a 4.7 T magnetic resonance (MR) spectrometer at several timepoints (1 - 18 months) after irradiation. The lesion size was evaluated by manual segmentation; the animals were behaviorally tested in a Morris water maze and examined histologically.
Results: We found that a dose of 25 Gy induced no edema, necrosis or behavioral change. The response of the rats to higher doses was not uniform; the first occurrence of lesions in the rat brains irradiated with 50 and 75 Gy was detected six months post-irradiation. Functional impairment correlated well with the lesion size and histology.
Conclusions: Rat brains showed the development of expanding delayed lesions after 50 or 75 Gy doses from the LGK during the first year after irradiation.