A new model of transient hindbrain ischemia in gerbils

A model of transient hindbrain ischemia in Mongolian gerbils is described. The vertebrobasilar junction of gerbils was exposed by a transcervical approach through the space between the atlas and occipital bone. The origin of the basilar artery was occluded by a clip, and the local cerebral blood flow (CBF) was measured with carbon-14-iodoantipyrine autoradiography. This gerbil model produces ischemia in the thalamus, midbrain, pons, medulla, and cerebellum, where blood flow is supplied from the vertebrobasilar system. Recirculation of blood flow was easily accomplished by removing the clip. Local CBF returned to normal levels immediately after recirculation, then decreased at 30 minutes after recirculation (postischemic hypoperfusion). Almost no effects of local CBF in the forebrain structures were noted during and after hindbrain ischemia. The model may be useful to study the pathophysiological, metabolic, and histopathological effects of ischemia in the vertebrobasilar system.