Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
J Appl Physiol (1985). 2013 Sep;115(6):868-76. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.01382.2012. Epub 2013 Jul 11.
Gas embolism occurs commonly in cardiac and vascular surgery and decompression sickness. The goals of this study were to develop a new in vivo rat model of cerebrovascular arterial gas embolism and to determine the effects of exogenous surfactants on resultant brain infarct volume and accompanying long-term neurological dysfunction using the model. Unilateral cerebral arterial gas embolism was induced in Sprague Dawley rats, including groups receiving intravenous Pluronic F-127 (PF-127) and Oxycyte perflourocarbon surfactant pretreatment. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed at 24 and 72 h postembolism to determine infarct volume. The elevated body swing test (EBST), limb-placement test, proprioception forelimb and hindlimb tests, whisker tactile test, and Morris Water Maze test were performed to assess motor behavior, somatosensory deficit, and spatial cognitive function out to 29 days after embolization. A stable stroke model was developed with MRI examination revealing infarction in the ipsilateral cerebral hemisphere. Gas embolized rats had significant cognitive and sensorimotor dysfunction, including approximately threefold increase in Morris Water Maze latency time, ∼20% left-sided biasing in EBST performance, 0.5 to 1.5 (mean) point score elevations in the proprioception and whisker tactile tests, and 3.0 point (mean) elevation in the limb-placement test, all of which were persistent throughout the postembolic period. Surfactant prophylaxis with either PF-127 or Oxycyte rendered stroke undetectable by MRI scanning and markedly reduced the postembolic deficits in both cognitive and sensorimotor performance in treated rats, with normalization of EBST and whisker tactile tests within 7 days.
气栓形成常见于心血管外科和减压病中。本研究的目的是建立一种新的脑血管动脉气栓形成的活体大鼠模型，并使用该模型确定外源性表面活性剂对由此产生的脑梗死体积和伴随的长期神经功能障碍的影响。在 Sprague Dawley 大鼠中诱导单侧脑血管动脉气栓形成，包括接受静脉注射 Pluronic F-127（PF-127）和 Oxycyte 全氟碳表面活性剂预处理的组。在栓塞后 24 和 72 小时进行磁共振成像（MRI）以确定梗死体积。进行抬高体摆动试验（EBST）、肢体放置试验、前肢和后肢本体感觉试验、触须触觉试验和 Morris 水迷宫试验，以评估栓塞后 29 天内的运动行为、感觉缺陷和空间认知功能。通过 MRI 检查发现对侧大脑半球梗死，建立了稳定的中风模型。气栓大鼠出现明显的认知和感觉运动功能障碍，包括 Morris 水迷宫潜伏期时间延长约 3 倍，EBST 性能偏向左侧约 20%，本体感觉和触须触觉试验评分升高 0.5 至 1.5（平均）点，肢体放置试验升高 3.0 点（平均），所有这些在栓塞后期间均持续存在。PF-127 或 Oxycyte 的表面活性剂预防使 MRI 扫描无法检测到中风，并显著降低了治疗大鼠的认知和感觉运动功能障碍，EBST 和触须触觉试验在 7 天内恢复正常。
