Induction of Cerebral Arterial Gas Embolism in Rat

We present a methodological approach for preclinical research of cerebral arterial gas embolism (CAGE), a condition characterized by gas bubbles within the cerebral circulation causing multifocal ischemia. The current work describes two surgical methods to induce CAGE in the rat: one with injection of air via the external carotid artery (ECA), thereby sacrificing the vessel, and one via direct injection into the common carotid artery (CCA). Male Wistar rats were used and divided into groups (n=5) to undergo either the ECA- or CCA-entry method with injection of different air emboli volumes (6000, 7000 and 8000 nL) or sham surgery. A custom-made bubble generator was used to produce gas emboli with consistent size, and open-source software was developed for real-time bubble analysis. The comparison between the two methods revealed the CCA approach to be superior in terms of consistent bubble production within the bubble generator, reduced embolization time and fewer complications.