Autologous blood injection to model spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage in mice.

Investigation of the pathophysiology of injury after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) requires a reproducible animal model. While ICH accounts for 10-15% of all strokes, there remains no specific effective therapy. The autologous blood injection model in mice involves the stereotaxic injection of arterial blood into the basal ganglia mimicking a spontaneous hypertensive hemorrhage in man. The response to hemorrhage can then be studied in vivo and the neurobehavioral deficits quantified, allowing for description of the ensuing pathology and the testing of potential therapeutic agents. The procedure described in this protocol uses the double injection technique to minimize risk of blood reflux up the needle track, no anticoagulants in the pumping system, and eliminates all dead space and expandable tubing in the system.