B. Gajkowska et al., PHOTOCHEMICALLY-INDUCED VASCULAR DAMAGE IN BRAIN CORTEX - TRANSMISSION AND SCANNING ELECTRON-MICROSCOPY STUDY, Acta Neurobiologiae Experimentalis, 57(3), 1997, pp. 203-208
Morphological changes of microvessels of cerebral cortex were evaluate
d in a model of cerebral infarction initiated by a photochemical react
ion. Rats were treated with intravenous injection of rose Bengal and i
rradiated from a halogen lamp source through an intact cranium to prec
ipitate microvascular damage. Investigations in transmission and scann
ing electron microscopy revealed platelet aggregation on endothelial c
ells preceded by its early ultrastructural damage. Other typical micro
scopic features of brain ischaemic injury were present suggesting that
the present method may be used as a model for investigating ischemic
brain damage. Since the photochemical activation of the rose Bengal dy
e results in formation of reactive oxygen species this model may be pa
rticularly useful to elucidate the role of free radical-mediated endot
helial damage in the formation of microthrombi and blood-brain-barrier
integrity.