Neurocritical care
-
Animal models of stroke play a crucial role in determining the pathophysiology of stroke progression and assessment of any new therapeutic approaches. Transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAo) in rodent models are the most common site-specific type of ischemia because of their relevance to the clinical setting. Compared with the intraluminal filament technique for inducing tMCAo, the transfemoral approach using endovascular wires is relatively a new technique METHODS: Here we present the use of commercially available wires used for neuro-endovascular surgical procedures to induce tMCAo in rats via a transfemoral approach. We used male Wistar rats in four groups to assess the effect of occlusion time (1 vs. 2 hours) and the wire type (PT2 TM 0.014″ vs. TransendTM EX, 0.014″, Boston Scientific, MA, USA). Infarct volume, edema, neurological deficits, and pro-inflammatory/anti-inflammatory blood biomarkers were used as outcome measures. ⋯ The choice of appropriate endovascular wire should probably be the focus of the study design instead of the occlusion time when planning an experiment. The transfemoral approach using endovascular wires for inducing tMCAo in rats provides a more consistent outcome with fewer complications compared with suture filament models.
-
Acute brain lesions constitute an alarming public health concern. Neuroprotective therapies have been implemented to stabilize, prevent, or reduce brain lesions, thus improving neurological outcomes and survival rates. Hypothermia is the most effective approach, mainly attributed to the reduction in cellular metabolic activity. Whole-body cooling is currently implemented by healthcare professionals; however, adverse events are frequent, limiting the potential benefits of therapeutic hypothermia. Therefore, selective methods have been developed to reduce adverse events while delivering neuroprotection. Nasopharyngeal approaches are the safest and most effective methods currently considered. Our primary objective was to determine the effects of a novel nasopharyngeal catheter on the brain temperature of pigs. ⋯ In this study, a novel nasopharyngeal cooling catheter effectively induced and maintained exclusive brain cooling when combined with effective counter-warming methods. Exclusive brain cooling was safe with no device-related local or systemic complications and may be desired in selected patient populations.