Intracerebral Hemorrhage Rat Model

Fifty four male Sprague–Dawley rats (n = 9), weighing between 300–400 g (purchased from the BioLasco Taiwan Co., Ltd., authorized by Charles River Lab), were used in this study. All experimental protocols were approved and supervised by the University of Kaohsiung Medicine Animal Research Committee and in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki (1964). The rats received anesthesia by an intraperitoneal injection of a mixture of 0.9 mg/100 gm xylazine and 5.5 mg/100 gm KetaVed. 1 ml/kg body weight (BW) fresh arterial blood was withdrawn from tail artery and injected into the craniocervical junction using a stereotactic apparatus (Stoelting, Wood Dale, IL 60191, USA) [45 (link)]. No mortality was found during the study. After the induction, animals were placed in ventral recumbent position for 30 minutes to let ventral blood clot formation. The repeated induction was performed 48 hr after the 1^st induction. After monitoring for respiratory distress and giving mechanical ventilation if necessary, the animals were returned to the vivarium till fully awake. A habitat was offered with a 12 h light–dark cycle and an access to food and water ad lib.