Establishing a model of middle cerebral artery occlusion in rabbits using endovascular interventional techniques

Abstract

This study aimed to establish a minimally invasive and easily controllable focal cerebral ischemia model in rabbits using interventional techniques for use in the study of thrombolytic treatment, and to evaluate the feasibility and reproducibility of the technique. Under the guidance of digital subtraction angiography (DSA), focal cerebral infarction was produced by blocking the middle cerebral artery with arterial emboli to establish a rabbit brain artery occlusion model. DSA and diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were used to observe the cerebral vascular obstruction infarction, while modified Bederson scoring was used to evaluate the neurological impairment. The animals were sacrificed 24 h after surgery and brain tissues were stained with 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) to evaluate the occlusion of the middle cerebral artery and pathological changes. The rabbit brain artery occlusion models were successfully established and the animals survived following embolization. Cerebral infarctions were observed in the brains of all animal models. The focal cerebral infarction rabbit model established by vascular interventional techniques is simple, minimally invasive and reliable, and may be used for early diagnosis of cerebral infarction and clinical thrombolysis studies.