The prediction of 30-day mortality and functional outcome in spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage with secondary ventricular hemorrhage: a score comparison.

The original ICH (oICH) score was tested in different populations and showed good accuracy in the prediction of outcome and 30-day mortality after spontaneous ICH. The oICH was developed to stratify patients with all types of spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (SICH). Several modifications of the oICH score exist in the literature.In the current study, we tested the oICH score, two modified ICH scores, and the IVH score on a cohort of 171 patients with SICH and mandatory secondary intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH). Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves were plotted, and the areas under the curves (AUC) were calculated for each score.The calculated AUCs for the prediction of 30-day mortality in the cohort were 0.736, 0.816, 0.805, and 0.836 for the original ICH, the mICH-A, the mICH-B, and the new IVH score, respectively. The best AUC for functional outcome was observed for the mICH-B score (0.823). For the mICH-A and the IVH score, an AUC of 0.811 was calculated.The scores that include the quantification of IVH or the grading of hydrocephalus show good accuracy in the prediction of 30-day mortality and functional outcome at 6 months in SICH with secondary IVH.

Doppler ultrasonographic measurement of blood flow velocities in major cerebral arteries of the rat using triplex mode.

OBJECTIVE: In patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage, delayed cerebral ischemia caused by vasospasm of major cerebral arteries is an important factor of morbidity. While Doppler ultrasonographic monitoring of blood flow velocities is a routine bedside examination in these patients, the current rodent models of vasospasm do not include this technique. In this article, we present an extended craniectomy in rats, which allows for direct angle-corrected Doppler ultrasonographic examination of major cerebral vessels. METHODS: Ultrasonographic examination employs a triplex window displaying simultaneously B-mode, colour coded vessel rendering and Doppler-assessment of blood flow velocity. The animals receive anesthesia for the measurements, which are repeated several times a week. RESULTS: Mean flow velocities determined by 116 measurements in 16 animals are (cm/s): truncus cerebri anterius: 8.16, arteria pericallosa: 7.49, arteries (Aa.) cerebri anteriores: 7.76, Aa. carotides: 8.76, Aa. cerebri mediae: 8.55, Aa. cerebri posteriores: 5.27, artery (A.) basilaris: 5.90. DISCUSSION: We describe the direct intravital detection of blood flow velocities in major cerebral vessels of the rat. The technique allows for simultaneous visualization of intracranial structures, vessel diameters and cerebral blood flow velocities. Our ongoing research focuses on determining normal values in a larger population of animals and examining the feasibility of the technique regarding the rodent model of vasospasm.

Potential applications of flat-panel volumetric CT in morphologic and functional small animal imaging.

Noninvasive radiologic imaging has recently gained considerable interest in basic and preclinical research for monitoring disease progression and therapeutic efficacy. In this report, we introduce flat-panel volumetric computed tomography (fpVCT) as a powerful new tool for noninvasive imaging of different organ systems in preclinical research. The three-dimensional visualization that is achieved by isotropic high-resolution datasets is illustrated for the skeleton, chest, abdominal organs, and brain of mice. The high image quality of chest scans enables the visualization of small lung nodules in an orthotopic lung cancer model and the reliable imaging of therapy side effects such as lung fibrosis. Using contrast-enhanced scans, fpVCT displayed the vascular trees of the brain, liver, and kidney down to the subsegmental level. Functional application of fpVCT in dynamic contrast-enhanced scans of the rat brain delivered physiologically reliable data of perfusion and tissue blood volume. Beyond scanning of small animal models as demonstrated here, fpVCT provides the ability to image animals up to the size of primates.

Intra-vital ultrasonographic monitoring of intra-cerebral tumor growth in a rat glioma model: technical note.

The assessment of therapeutic effects in rodent glioma models by comparison of post mortem tumor sizes has to deal with differing individual growth kinetics and the possibility of spontaneous tumor regression. This technical note describes the intravital ultrasonographical monitoring of cerebral tumor growth in individual animals. In the experiments C6 lacZ glioma cells were injected intracerebrally into female Wistar rats. Extended craniectomy allowed for transcutaneous sonographic examination of the tumor growth. Four animals were followed ultrasonographically, the volumes of the tumors were calculated and plotted graphically, and on day 21 histological evaluation was performed. Our results show that ultrasonography is an easy and reliable imaging modality for frequent assessment of tumor growth kinetics in the intra-cerebral rat glioma model. It allows for the intravital monitoring of treatment with new therapeutic strategies and increases the reliability of the model by visualization of the tumor size before initiation of treatment.