Continuous Measurement of Cerebral Cortical Blood Flow by Laser—Doppler Flowmetry in a Rat Stroke Model

Abstract

Laser-Doppler flowmetry (LDF), a new method allowing instantaneous, continuous, and noninvasive measurements of microcirculatory blood flow in a small tissue sample, was evaluated for its accuracy in monitoring regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in the cortical microcirculation after focal cerebral ischemia. Wistar and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR, n = 19) were subjected to permanent occlusion of the middle cerebral and common carotid arteries. Absolute rCBF in a tissue sample of the ischemic hemisphere was measured autoradiographically with [14C]iodoantipyrine as a tracer and compared to rCBF measured by LDF. Additionally, the percent change in rCBF between baseline and ischemic values was compared for both methods. Absolute rCBF values recorded with LDF correlated poorly (r = 0.54) with [14C]iodoantipyrine measurements. In contrast, LDF readings expressed as a percentage of ischemic vs. preocclusion readings (relative LDF readings) correlated very well (r = 0.91) with the percent change in [14C...