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Ventricular-subcutaneous shunt for the treatment of experimental hydrocephalus in young rats: technical note

  • Technical Note
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Abstract

Background

Hydrocephalus is a complex disease that affects cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) dynamics and is very common in children. To this date, CSF shunting is still the standard treatment for childhood hydrocephalus, but, nevertheless, the effects of such an operation on the developing brain are widely unknown. To help overcome this, experimental models of CSF shunts are surely very useful tools.

Objective

The objective of this study was to describe a feasible and reliable technique of an adapted ventricular-subcutaneous shunt for the treatment of kaolin-induced hydrocephalus in young rats.

Methods

We developed a ventricular-subcutaneous shunt (VSCS) technique which was used in 31 Wistar young rats with kaolin-induced hydrocephalus. Hydrocephalus was induced at 7 days of age, and shunt implantation was performed 7 days later. Our technique used a 0.7-mm gauge polypropylene catheter tunneled to a subcutaneous pocket created over the animal’s back and inserted into the right lateral ventricle. All animals were sacrificed 14 days after shunt insertion.

Results

Twenty-four rats survived and remained well until the study was ended. No major complications were seen. Their weight gain went back to normal. They all underwent ambulatory behavioral testing prior and after VSCS, which showed improvement in their motor skills. We have also obtained magnetic resonance (MR) scans of 16 pups confirming reduction of ventricular size after shunting and indicating effective treatment. Histopathological analysis of brain samples before and after shunting showed reversion of ependymal and corpus callosum disruption, as well as fewer reactive astrocytes in shunted animals.

Conclusions

An experimental CSF shunt technique was devised. Excessive CSF of hydrocephalic rats is diverted into the subcutaneous space where it can be resorbed. This technique has a low complication rate and is effective. It might be applied to various types of experimental studies involving induction and treatment of hydrocephalus.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery and Anatomy, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Av. Bandeirantes, 3900, Campus Universitário, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14049-900, Brazil

    Marcelo Volpon Santos, Hélio Rubens Machado & Ricardo Santos de Oliveira

  2. Behavioral Neuropathology and Pediatric Neurosurgery Laboratory, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil

    Marcelo Volpon Santos, Camila Araujo Bernardino Garcia, Evelise Oliveira Jardini, Thais Helena Romeiro, Luiza da Silva Lopes, Hélio Rubens Machado & Ricardo Santos de Oliveira

Authors
  1. Marcelo Volpon Santos
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  2. Camila Araujo Bernardino Garcia
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  3. Evelise Oliveira Jardini
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  4. Thais Helena Romeiro
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  5. Luiza da Silva Lopes
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  6. Hélio Rubens Machado
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  7. Ricardo Santos de Oliveira
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marcelo Volpon Santos.

Ethics declarations

All procedures were undertaken in accordance with the guidelines of the Brazilian College of Animal Experimentation (SBCAL/COBEA) and approved by our institution’s ethics committee.

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No funding was received for this article.

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Santos, M.V., Garcia, C.A.B., Jardini, E.O. et al. Ventricular-subcutaneous shunt for the treatment of experimental hydrocephalus in young rats: technical note. Childs Nerv Syst 32, 1507–1511 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-016-3042-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-016-3042-1

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