Preterm Rabbit Model of Glycerol-Induced Intraventricular Hemorrhage

Intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) remains a major complication of prematurity. We have developed a model of IVH in preterm rabbit pups. We deliver rabbit pups prematurely by C-section at 29-day gestational age (term = 32 days) and inject intraperitoneal glycerol at 3 h age to induce IVH. About 80 % of glycerol-treated pups develop IVH within 8 h age, which can be detected accurately with head ultrasound. These pups are reared in an infant incubator and gavage fed. At postnatal day 14, they exhibit hypomyelination, gliosis, and impaired neurological function. Hence, this is a novel animal model of IVH that can be used to test strategies to prevent post-hemorrhagic complication of IVH.
Source: Springer protocols feed by Neuroscience - Category: Neuroscience Source Type: news