2000 Volume 11 Issue 3 Pages 241-246
We evaluated the efficacy of the intermittent brain compression for reducing the brain injury under the cerebral venous circulatory disturbances. Fifteen Wistar male rats were used. The brain surface was compressed at the frontal cortex near the dorsal vein by a compressed bar, and the changes of sequential local cerebral blood flow (1-CBF) were measured at the compressive area before and for 60 minutes after the compression. Rats were assigned to one of the following three experimental groups; (1) Sham-operated group (n=5), (2) continuous compression (CC) under vein occlusion (n=5), (3) intermittent constant exposure (ICE) under vein occlusion (n=5). After 24 hours, the rats were submitted to perfusion fixation and examined histologically. Just after the release from the compression, 1-CBF decreased significantly in the both CC and ICE groups (vs. Sham-operated group (p<0.001). After the release, however, the recovery was observed in the ICE group, but not in the CC groups (p<0.05). Moreover, damaged area in the ICE group was smaller than in the CC group (p=0.002).
These results indicate that the intermittent brain compression can reduce the brain retraction injury even under cerebral venous circulatory disturbances.
