A blood-brain barrier disruption model eliminating the hemodynamic effect of ketamine.

Objective: We propose a simple modification to an established blood-brain barrier disruption (BBBD) animal model that allows us to use ketamine/xylazine as the anaesthetic agent, therefore decreasing the complexity and the cost of the model, while maintaining similar efficiency.

Methods: Sixty-two Long Evans rats were anaesthetized by intraperitoneal injection of ketamine/xylazine. Osmotic BBBD was performed by administering 25% mannitol into the internal carotid artery in a retrograde fashion from the external carotid. The infusion rate of mannitol, as well as the duration was adjusted in a stepwise fashion to identify optimal parameters for BBBD and minimize complications. As a supplementary step to previously reported models, a vascular clip was applied to the common carotid artery prior to the infusion of mannitol, therefore isolating our model system from the depressant hemodynamic effects of ketamine/xylazine. Evans blue dye was used to control for BBBD intensity.

Results: Using this model at an initial infusion rate of 0.15 ml/sec, a significant incidence of brain hemorrhage (75%) and a death rate of 62.5% were observed. Decreasing the infusion rate in a stepwise fashion, 0.08 ml/sec was found to produce optimal BBBD, as demonstrated by Evans blue staining. At this rate, 6/7 animals depicted grade II staining, whereas one animal depicted grade IV.

Conclusion: The application of a clip to the common carotid artery prior to mannitol infusion allowed us to isolate the cerebral circulation from the depressant hemodynamic effects of ketamine/xylazine. This supplementary step produced consistent and efficient BBBD in our animal model.