title: Distribution of neuropathological lesions in pig brains after different durations of cardiac arrest.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate all brain regions reported to be selectively vulnerable to global ischaemia in a pig cardiac arrest model with different durations of no-flow by establishing a semi-quantitative brain histopathologic scoring system and to compare histological damage with neurological deficits.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a prospective randomised laboratory investigation, 35 female Large White pigs weighing 35-45 kg underwent ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest for 0, 7, 10 or 13 min. In the brains of all animals that survived until the final endpoint (72 h post-arrest), 22 distinct regions were evaluated on paraffin-embedded sections in terms of type and extent of lesions. The results of the histological examination were compared to the results of a neurological outcome evaluation after 72 h.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significant differences were found in all cortex regions, the caudate nucleus and putamen, the hippocampal formation, the cerebellar cortex, and the thalamus between the ischaemic groups (7- and 10-min groups) and the control group (0-min group). No 13-min group animal survived. The main findings were neuronal necrosis and oedema. In animals from the 10-min group, many neurons were reabsorbed in the cerebral cortex, caudate nucleus and cerebellar granule cell layer. There was a highly significant correlation between histological damage and neurological deficits.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The pattern of neuronal lesions in this pig model bear good resemblance to the pattern known in humans and other animal models. The amount of histological lesions in selectively vulnerable brain regions correlates to neurological outcome.
authors: Department of Pathobiology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Austria.
authors: Sandra
authors: S
authors: Högler
authors: Fritz
authors: F
authors: Sterz
authors: Wolfgang
authors: W
authors: Sipos
authors: Alexandra
authors: A
authors: Schratter
authors: Wolfgang
authors: W
authors: Weihs
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Holzer
authors: Andreas
authors: A
authors: Janata
authors: Udo
authors: U
authors: Losert
authors: Wilhelm
authors: W
authors: Behringer
authors: Alexander
authors: A
authors: Tichy
authors: Peter
authors: P
authors: Schmidt
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D016887:Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D006323:Heart Arrest / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011897:Random Allocation; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013552:Swine