Cerebral microcirculatory changes after cerebral embolization induced by glass bead injection in rabbits

The authors investigated microcirculatory changes in cerebral embolization induced by an injection of glass beads (mesh size 20/400, 15 mg/body) using intravital microscopy and reflectance spectrophotometry in normal rabbits. Cerebral embolization with the glass bead injection reduced the inner diameter of cerebral arterioles, the index of cerebral hemoglobin concentration (IHb), and the index of oxygen saturation (ISO2). Moreover, platelet aggregation rates and plasma levels of thromboxane B2 (TXB2) and 6-keto-prostaglandin F1 alpha (6-keto-PGF1 alpha) appreciably increased. During observation of the pial vasculature, "white bodies" became visible at the entrance of arteriolar branchings two to three minutes after the glass bead injection. After indomethacin administration (3 mg/kg, IV), they could not observe white bodies, and platelet aggregation rates were significantly reduced. The plasma levels of TXB2 and 6-keto-PGF1 alpha were also significantly reduced. These findings suggest that glass beads do injury to the microvascular endothelial cells leading to development of white bodies, ie, "flying thrombi." Therefore, the cerebral microvascular embolization induced by the glass bead injection appears to be an experimental model for evaluating efficacy of remedies for the cerebral microcirculatory disorders.