Importance of CBF measurement to exclude concomitant cerebral infarction in the murine endovascular perforation SAH model

Abstract

Objective: Concomitant cerebral infarction (CI) is could be a potential concern in experimental subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) induced by endovascular perforation. We propose a noninvasive method for excluding CI in a murine SAH model by using Laser speckle flow imaging (LSFI).

Methods: An SAH was induced with endovascular perforation (EVP) in male ddY mice. The cerebral blood flow (CBF) was quantitatively measured in the bilateral cerebral cortex was performed by using LSFI at five timepoints (preprocedure, immediately after, and 3 hours, 6 hours, and 24 hours after the procedure). The mice were then euthanized, and the SAH grade and volume of the CI were evaluated. The mice were divided into the SAH group and the SAH + CI group. Differences between the groups were assessed.

Results: Forty-eight mice were used in this study. Six were the sham control group. Five SAH mice died within 24 hours after the procedure. A large CI on the ipsilateral side occurred in 15 (40.5%) mice (i.e., SAH + CI group). The remaining 22 (59.5%) mice were classified as the SAH group. The SAH grading score was not significantly different between the groups. The neurological score and CBF of the ipsilateral hemisphere were significantly higher in the SAH group than in the SAH + CI group (neurological score: 12.3 vs. 8, p < 0.01; CBF: 343.1 vs. 205.5; p < 0.01). The cut-off modified neurological score for excluding CI was 8 (area under the curve [AUC]: 0.77) and CBF at 24 hours after the procedure was 279.2 (AUC:0.856).

Conclusions: Using LSFI is less invasive and effectively excludes concomitant CI in experimental SAH. This methodological protocol may ad in improving the quality of the EVP-SAH model.

Keywords: Subarachnoid hemorrhage; cerebral infarction; endovascular; perforation.