A Low Mortality Rat Model to Assess Delayed Cerebral Vasospasm After Experimental Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

OBJECTIVE: To characterize and establish a reproducible model that demonstrates delayed cerebral vasospasm after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) in rats, in order to identify the initiating events, pathophysiological changes and potential targets for treatment. METHODS: Twenty-eight male Sprague-Dawley rats (250 - 300 g) were arbitrarily assigned to one of two groups - SAH or saline control. Rat subarachnoid hemorrhage in the SAH group (n=15) was induced by double injection of autologous blood, 48 hr apart, into the cisterna magna. Similarly, normal saline (n=13) was injected into the cisterna magna of the saline control group. Rats were sacrificed on day five after the second blood injection and the brains were preserved for histological analysis. The degree of vasospasm was measured using sections of the basilar artery, by measuring the internal luminal cross sectional area using NIH Image-J software. The significance was tested using Tukey/Kramer's statistical analysis. RESULTS: After analysis of histological sections, basilar artery luminal cross sectional area were smaller in the SAH than in the saline group, consistent with cerebral vasospasm in the former group. In the SAH group, basilar artery internal area (.056 μm ± 3) were significantly smaller from vasospasm five days after the second blood injection (seven days after the initial blood injection), compared to the saline control group with internal area (.069 ± 3; p=0.004). There were no mortalities from cerebral vasospasm. CONCLUSION: The rat double SAH model induces a mild, survivable, basilar artery vasospasm that can be used to study the pathophysiological mechanisms of cerebral vasospasm in a small animal model. A low and acceptable mortality rate is a significant criterion to be satisfied for an ideal SAH animal model so that the mechanisms of vasospasm can be elucidated. Further modifications of the model can be made to adjust for increased severity of vasospasm and neurological exams.