a-new-method-for-inducing-a-depression-like-behavior-in-rats

A New Method for Inducing a Depression-Like Behavior in Rats

Contagious depression is a phenomenon that is yet to be fully recognized and this stems from insufficient material on the subject. At the moment, there is ...

a-middle-cerebral-artery-occlusion-technique-for-inducing-post-stroke

A Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion Technique for Inducing Post-stroke Depression in Rats

Post-stroke depression (PSD) is the most recurrent of all psychiatric complications resulting from an ischemic stroke. A greater majority (about 60%) of ...

inducing-acute-liver-injury-rats-via-carbon-tetrachloride-ccl4

Inducing Acute Liver Injury in Rats via Carbon Tetrachloride (CCl<sub>4</sub>) Exposure Through an Orogastric Tube

Acute liver injury (ALI) plays a crucial role in the development of hepatic failure, which is characterized by severe liver dysfunction including ...

induction-diffuse-axonal-brain-injury-rats-based-on-rotational

Induction of Diffuse Axonal Brain Injury in Rats Based on Rotational Acceleration

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of death and disability. Diffuse axonal injury (DAI) is the predominant mechanism of injury in a large ...

measuring-post-stroke-cerebral-edema-infarct-zone-blood-brain-barrier

Measuring Post-Stroke Cerebral Edema, Infarct Zone and Blood-Brain Barrier Breakdown in a Single Set of Rodent Brain Samples

One of the most common causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide is ischemic stroke. Historically, an animal model used to stimulate ischemic stroke ...

a-metric-test-for-assessing-spatial-working-memory-adult-rats

A Metric Test for Assessing Spatial Working Memory in Adult Rats Following Traumatic Brain Injury

Impairments to sensory, short-term, and long-term memory are common side effects after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Due to the ethical limitations of ...

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Soroka Medical Center, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of somatostatin in the regulation of brain inflammation. We used lipopolysaccharide-induced prostaglandin E2 production in neonatal rat microglia and in astrocytes as a model of brain inflammation. Our data show an unexpected differential effect of somatostatin on lipopolysaccharide-induced prostaglandin E2 synthesis in rat microglia vs. in astrocytes. Somatostatin markedly inhibited the lipopolysaccharide-induced prostaglandin E2 synthesis in microglia whereas, on the contrary, in astrocytes the lipopolysaccharide-induced prostaglandin E2 production was actually enhanced by somatostatin. These novel observations imply that somatostatin may regulate brain inflammation in a dual manner.

Differential regulation of prostaglandin synthesis in neonatal rat microglia and astrocytes by somatostatin.

Depression is a common and important cause of morbidity, and results in a significant economic burden. Recent human studies have demonstrated that that depression is contagious, and depression in family and friends might cumulatively increase the likelihood that a person will exhibit depressive behaviors. The mechanisms underlying contagion depression are poorly understood, and there are currently no animal models for this condition.

Establishment of an animal model of depression contagion.

Glutamate toxicity plays a well-established role in secondary brain damage following acute and chronic brain insults. Previous studies have demonstrated the efficacy of hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis in reducing blood glutamate levels. However, these methods are not viable options for hemodynamically unstable patients. Given more favorable hemodynamics, longer treatment, and less needed anticoagulation, we investigated whether hemofiltration could be effective in lowering blood glutamate levels. Blood samples were taken from 10 critically ill patients immediately before initiation of hemofiltration and after 1, 2, 4, 6, and 12 h, for a total of 6 blood samples. Samples were sent for determination of glutamate, glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT), glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT), hemoglobin, hematocrit, urea, creatinine, glucose, sodium, potassium, platelet, and white blood cell (WBC) levels. There was a statistically significant reduction in blood glutamate levels at all time points compared to baseline levels. There was no difference in levels of GOT or GPT. Hemofiltration can be a promising method of reducing blood glutamate levels, especially in critically ill patients where hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis may be contraindicated.

Blood Glutamate Reducing Effect of Hemofiltration in Critically Ill Patients.

Post-stroke depression (PSD) is the most frequent psychiatric complication following ischemic stroke. It affects up to 60% of all patients and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality following ischemic stroke. The pathophysiology of PSD remains elusive and appears to be multifactorial, rather than "purely" biological or psychosocial in origin. Thus, valid animal models of PSD would contribute to the study of the etiology (and treatment) of this disorder.

Biological and Behavioral Patterns of Post-Stroke Depression in Rats.

Patients who undergo surgical procedures that impair the integrity of the chest wall frequently experience extremely severe postoperative pain. Opiates and weaker analgesics, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), are not sufficiently effective in achieving control of severe pain and might cause respiratory and gastrointestinal complications. In the past decade, there has been an increased interest in the use of regional nerve blocks for post-thoracoscopy and post-thoracotomy analgesia.

Ultrasound-guided serratus anterior plane block for analgesia after thoracic surgery.

Stroke plays a role in high morbidity and mortality. Deciphering its mechanisms and pathophysiology is critical for the creation of new drugs and therapies. Most of the previous animal models of stroke, aimed at identifying the extent and location of brain injury following stroke, require animal sacrifice, which, besides ethical considerations, also negates the ability for follow up studies with the same rats. Because of these failures, the useof clinicalmagnetic resonance scanners forevaluatingsmall animal models has been increasing. Magnetic resonance imaging scanners used particularly for small-bore animals are eligible for use in high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging of rodent brains. However, high costs and scarcity factor heavily in the rare availability of these scanners. In our investigation, we sought to establish a unitary magnetic resonance imaging protocol for stroke assessment in rats. We made use of a 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging clinical scanner, as well as another clinical equipment, with the purpose of increasing its reproducibility. The results of inquest validated a new magnetic resonance imaging protocol, comparing a magnetic resonance imaging-measured infarcted zone to the "gold standard" of histological examination. We carried out the experimental procedure on a 3 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging clinical scanner using a conventional eight-channel receive-only coil. The two methods produced remarkable quantitative and qualitative correlations between them. Conclusively, we showed the clinical magnetic resonance imaging scanner to be a high-precision and sensitive image analysis instrument for evaluating both the infarct zone and the brain edema in a stroke experimental rat model.

Establishment of Novel Technical Methods for Evaluating Brain Edema and Lesion Volume in Stroked Rats: a Standardization of Measurement Procedures.

A common experimental rodent model for stroke includes induction by a technique in which middle cerebral artery is transiently (MCAO-t) or permanently (MCAO-p) occluded by catheterization. However, this model has prominent disadvantages which consist of the high variability of localization and size of the ischemic area, cases of intracranial hemorrhage and high mortality. Furthermore, the duration of a single MCAO operation takes about thirty minutes and requires highly trained staff. In this article, we propose an alternative method, which is based on laser-induced stroke in the motor cortex. In our research, we compared the original MCAO-p and MCAO-t models and a novel laser model.

An Alternative Model of Laser-Induced Stroke in the Motor Cortex of Rats.

Maternal-deprivation of rodent pups is a relevant model of extreme early-life stress that can be relevant to the understanding of long-term effects of war, migration, parental loss and displacement. Although even mild stress during infancy affects brain development and behavior, the current study focused on the effects of six hour daily maternal-separation, a model that reflects the severe distress often experienced in those circumstances. This study emphasizes the effect of maternal separation on social behavior in the context of a variety of factors that measure cognitive and emotional behavior which were subject to principle component analysis. Sprague-Dawley pups were separated from the dam for 6 h each day during the first 3-weeks of life and underwent a battery of behavioral tests at 3-months of age. We found that rodents exposed to postnatal maternal deprivation displayed submissive behavior in resident-intruder and dominant-submissive tests, as well as significantly more anxiety and anhedonia than control rats. The results of multivariate statistical analysis show that the dominant-submissive behavior correlates with depressive, anxiety and social behavior and can be predicted with an accuracy of 86.2%. The increased submissive behavior in male rats that had been subjected to severe postnatal stress suggests that exposure to stress during infancy and childhood could have long-term effects on social relationships. The mechanism of the long-term effects on depression, anxiety and submissive behavior requires further investigation.

Early life stress induces submissive behavior in adult rats.

Stroke is a major cause of global morbidity and mortality. Middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) has historically been the most common animal model of simulating ischemic stroke. The extent of neurological injury after MCAO is typically measured by cerebral edema, infarct zone, and blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability. A significant limitation of these methods is that separate sets of brains must be used for each measurement. Here we examine an alternative method of measuring cerebral edema, infarct zone and BBB permeability following MCAO in the same set of brain samples. Ninety-six rats were randomly divided into three experimental groups. Group 1 ( = 27) was used for the evaluation of infarct zone and brain edema in rats post-MCAO ( = 17) vs. sham-operated controls ( = 10). Group 2 ( = 27) was used for the evaluation of BBB breakdown in rats post-MCAO ( = 15) vs. sham-operated controls ( = 10). In Group 3 ( = 42), all three parameters were measured in the same set of brain slices in rats post-MCAO ( = 26) vs. sham-operated controls ( = 16). The effect of Evans blue on the accuracy of measuring infarct zone by 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining was determined by measuring infarct zone with and without an applied blue filter. The effects of various concentrations of TTC (0, 0.05, 0.35, 0.5, 1, and 2%) on the accuracy of measuring BBB permeability was also assessed. There was an increase in infarct volume ( < 0.01), brain edema ( < 0.01) and BBB breakdown ( < 0.01) in rats following MCAO compared to sham-operated controls, whether measured separately or together in the same set of brain samples. Evans blue had an effect on measuring infarct volume that was minimized by the application of a blue filter on scanned brain slices. There was no difference in the Evans blue extravasation index for the brain tissue samples without TTC compared to brain tissue samples incubated in TTC. Our results demonstrate that measuring cerebral edema, infarct zone and BBB permeability following MCAO can accurately be measured in the same set of brain samples.

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Publication title Cited by 18	2020
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Article	Year
Differential regulation of prostaglandin synthesis in neonatal rat microglia and astrocytes by somatostatin. European journal of pharmacology\| PubMed ID: 18325491	2008
Establishment of an animal model of depression contagion. Behavioural brain research\| PubMed ID: 25523029	2015
Blood Glutamate Reducing Effect of Hemofiltration in Critically Ill Patients. Neurotoxicity research\| PubMed ID: 28836163	2018
Biological and Behavioral Patterns of Post-Stroke Depression in Rats. The Canadian journal of neurological sciences. Le journal canadien des sciences neurologiques\| PubMed ID: 29880078	2018
Ultrasound-guided serratus anterior plane block for analgesia after thoracic surgery. Journal of pain research\| PubMed ID: 30881105	2019
Establishment of Novel Technical Methods for Evaluating Brain Edema and Lesion Volume in Stroked Rats: a Standardization of Measurement Procedures. Brain research\| PubMed ID: 31026458	2019
An Alternative Model of Laser-Induced Stroke in the Motor Cortex of Rats. Biological procedures online\| PubMed ID: 31130825	2019
Early life stress induces submissive behavior in adult rats. Behavioural brain research\| PubMed ID: 31254880
A Novel Method for Assessing Cerebral Edema, Infarcted Zone and Blood-Brain Barrier Breakdown in a Single Post-stroke Rodent Brain. Frontiers in neuroscience\| PubMed ID: 31680838	2019

Julia Grinshpun

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