Bilateral carotid artery occlusion causes periventricular leukomalacia in neonatal dogs

At 14 days of age, seven mongrel puppies were anesthetized and bilateral carotid arteries, not only the common but also the external and internal carotid arteries, were ligated with sutures. Seven sham-operated littermates served as controls. They were sacrificed at 3 months of age, and their brains were examined macro- and microscopically. Neuropathological examination revealed dilated posterior communicating and basilar arteries in bilateral carotid artery occlusion (BCAO) animals. Six out of 7 BCAO brains had uni- or multiloculated cysts in the periventricular white matter which were surrounded by a band of GFAP-positive glial cells. Scattered small areas of gliosis were found in all experimental animals. Four BCAO brains also showed ventricular dilatation. Although the cerebral cortex seemed to be intact, the periventricular white matter and the corpus callosum were reduced in width in experimental animals. Myelination in the white matter was significantly reduced in BCAO animals compared with the controls. This study directly demonstrates that cerebral hypoperfusion alone can produce periventricular leukomalacia in neonatal dogs.