Long-term sampling of cerebral venous blood in conscious rats

The mechanisms of secondary brain damage following cerebral ischemia or CNS trauma are still unknown. A variety of mediators, released by the injured brain, are held to be responsible for delayed neuronal cell damage. No technique is available yet for repeated sampling of cerebral venous blood (CVB) on a long-term basis, which allows to assess the neurobiochemical responses to brain injury chronically in conscious laboratory animals. This is a report on the establishment of a method to sample CVB from the superior sagittal sinus (SSS) for at least 7 days in conscious freely moving rats. The torcular was exposed for implantation of a catheter into the caudal SSS. Patency was preserved by perfusion with a nonsystemic dose of heparin by an Alzet osmotic pump and verified daily by aspirating of 0.5 ml CVB for blood analysis. No neuropathology was seen in histological examination. The rats appeared comfortable and without distress, and the transient weight loss was rapidly regained. The present model provides the opportunity to evaluate acute or chronic neurobiochemical responses to stroke, CNS trauma, or any other typ of brain injury in the conscious rat.