A Sagittal Plane Rotational Injury Rodent Model for Research on Traumatic Brain Injuries

Kapitel i bok, 2019

The model presented here produce brain injuries following sagittal plane rearward rotational acceleration in rats. During trauma, a rotating bar, which is tightly secured to the animal head, is impacted by a striker that causes the rotating bar and the animal head to rotate rearward; the acceleration phase is followed by a rotation at constant speed and gentle deceleration when the rotating bar contacts a padded stop. The total head angle change range from 25° to 30°. By adjusting the air pressure in the air-driven accelerator used to accelerate the striker, a large range of rotational accelerations can be achieved. This model can, depending on the striker velocity, produce subdural bleedings, graded widespread axonal injuries in the corpus callosum, the border between the corpus callosum, cortex, cerebellum, olfactory bulbs, and in some of the tracts in the brain stem. The model has been shown to produce degenerating axons. For lower rotational accelerations no apparent axonal injuries can be observed. The model produces only limited signs of contusion injury, and macrophage invasions, glial fibrillary acidic protein redistribution or hypertrophy, and blood–brain barrier changes are unusual. The model produces distinct S100 and Neurofilament Light serum concentration changes, thus indicating that blood vessel and glia cell injuries may occur. The rotational acceleration trauma model presented can produce graded axonal injury, is repeatable, and produce limited other types of TBIs and as such is useful in the study of injury biomechanics, diagnostics, and treatment strategies following diffuse axonal injury and most likely also following concussion.