Endovascular suture occlusion of the middle cerebral artery in rats: effect of suture insertion distance on cerebral blood flow, infarct distribution and infarct volume.

Sprague-Dawley rats anesthetized with isoflurane, underwent MCA occlusion by intraluminal 3-0 suture insertion, either 22 mm (n = 8) or 18 mm (n = 6) beyond the CCA bifurcation or were sham-operated as controls (n = 3) for autoradiographic analysis of cerebral blood flow. Infarct volume was measured 24 hours after the onset of ischemia (22 mm, n = 11; 18 mm, n = 10); neurological examinations were performed at 6 and 24 hours. Cerebral blood flow in the MCA distribution was significantly lower in the 22 mm suture insertion group than in the 18 mm group (p < 0.05). The total infarct volume was significantly larger (197 +/- 15 versus 135 +/- 19 mm3, p < 0.05) and the coefficient of variance was significantly smaller (23.8% versus 43.9%, p < 0.05) in the 22 mm group. Border zone regions of medial caudoputamen and dorsolateral cortex were often spared in the 18 mm group but never in the 22 mm group. The neurological deficit was more severe in the 22 mm group at 24 hours (p < 0.05), but not at 6 hours. The greater blood flow reduction and the less variable histological damage in dorsolateral cortex (a watershed area between the middle and anterior cerebral arteries) and the greater histological damage in medial caudate in the 22 mm group further characterizes this focal ischemia model for two potential applications: 22 mm insertion for studies requiring extensive and reproducible infarcts; 18 mm insertion for studies requiring less severe and more variable lesions after permanent MCA occlusion.