Comparison of silicon-coated nylon suture to plain nylon suture in the rat middle cerebral artery occlusion model

• Published in: Journal of neuroscience methods 2006-09, Vol.156 (1), p.161-165
• Main Authors: Shimamura, Norihito, Matchett, Gerald, Tsubokawa, Tamiji, Ohkuma, Hiroki, Zhang, John
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Behavior, Animal - physiology; Brain - pathology; Brain Ischemia - pathology; Brain Ischemia - psychology; Cerebral ischemia; Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery - pathology; Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery - psychology; Intraluminal suture; Ligation; Male; Middle Cerebral Artery - physiology; Nylon; Nylons; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Silicon; Sutures
• ISSN: 0165-0270; 1872-678X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2006.02.017

A variety of intraluminal sutures have been used in the middle cerebral artery occlusion model (MCAO) of focal ischemia. In the present study we tested commercially available silicon-coated nylon suture in the MCAO model and compared the results to traditional monofilament nylon suture occlusion. Twelve Sprague-Dawley male rats were randomly divided two groups, MCAO with 4-0 nylon suture (Group N, n = 6) and MCAO with silicone-coated 4-0 nylon suture (Group S, n = 6). Rats were sacrificed 24 h after reperfusion. Assessment included mortality rates, neurological evaluation, and infarct volume. One rat died in each group from subarachanoid hemorrhage. Neurological evaluation demonstrated that Group S tended to have worse neurological outcomes than Group N, although this difference was not statistically significant. On TTC stain Group S had significantly larger infarct volumes than Group N. We conclude that the commercially available silicone-coated occlusion suture provides better occlusion of the middle cerebral artery than the traditional uncoated nylon suture. Classification: Disease-related neuroscience (Section 6).