title: Brain death scintigraphy and pathology results in a rat model.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Brain scintigraphy with Tc-99m-labeled diethylenetriaminopenta-acetic acid is a sensitive diagnostic method showing loss of cerebral blood flow that occurs after brain death. Cerebral blood flow can be quantitatively estimated by this method. The aim of this study was to compare histopathologic changes occurring with the decrease of cerebral blood flow (as shown by Tc-99m-labeled diethylenetriaminopenta-acetic acid brain death scintigraphy) after brain death in an experimental model.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included examination of cerebral blood flow by Tc-99m-labeled diethylenetriaminopenta-acetic acid brain scintigraphy in the 20 rats, 1 day before brain death, after producing brain death in 11 surviving rats. Tc-99m-labeled diethylenetriaminopenta-acetic acid brain scintigraphy was performed under intubation and monitored. The Mann-Whitney U test was performed to compare groups (scintigraphic quantification results before and after brain death).
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the time activity curves generated from the analysis of the scintigraphies, decreases in counts in the brain death group were obtained in the arterial phase (P < .01). Decreases of the cerebral blood flow between the first and the sixth minutes were statistically significant (P < .05). Common principal histopathologic changes of the brain death (ie, autolysis and color loss in the nerve cells, diffuse edema, petechial hemorrhage in the brain tissues) were observed in all subjects.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Quantitative findings of the brain scintigraphy by Tc-99m-labeled diethylenetriaminopenta-acetic acid was related with the histopathologic findings seen during the early brain death, with significant decreases of the cerebral blood flow. Quantification of Tc-99m-labeled diethylenetriaminopenta-acetic acid brain death scintigraphy as an easier and less-expensive scintigraphic method of cerebral blood flow might indicate a definite diagnosis of brain death and thus, potential donors can be determined earlier, leaving to increased transplant rates.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Firat University Medical Faculty, Elazig, Turkey.
authors.forename: Yunus
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Güzel
authors.forename: Zehra Pınar
authors.initials: ZP
authors.lastname: Koç
authors.forename: Hüseyin Aydın
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Mitil
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Köm
authors.forename: A Belin
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Özer
authors.forename: H İbrahim
authors.initials: Hİ
authors.lastname: Özercan
authors.forename: Tansel Ansal
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Balcı
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology*; D001926:Brain Death / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D055420:Perfusion Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012039:Regional Blood Flow; D016284:Technetium Tc 99m Pentetate; D013997:Time Factors; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D016284:Technetium Tc 99m Pentetate