Investigation of the course of GFAP in blood in the initial 24 hours in rats subjected to minor head trauma

H.I. Çikriklar, M.A. Ekici, Z. Özbek, D.T. Cosan, C. Baydemir, Y. Yürümez

Emergency Medicine Clinic, Sevket Yilmaz Training and Research, Bursa, Turkey. ekici@gmail.com

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• Neurology

AIM: Aim of this study is to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of Glial Fibrillar Acidic Protein (GFAP) particularly in minor head traumas.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: 72 female and male, 3 month-old, Sprague Dawley rats were used in the study. The rats were divided into 9 groups. Following anesthesia, all rats were placed in prone position. A 10 mm long and 3 mm thick stainless steel metal disc was fixed onto the skull using dental paste in order to sustain a closed head trauma and evenly distribute the weight throughout the skull. After placing it under the metallic pipe arrangement over a height of 80 centimeters and fixing to make it constant, 50 g metallic discs were released by free fall, and the head trauma was sustained thanks to the gravity-generated force. Blood samples were collected from the rats under anesthesia for biochemical GFAP analysis 10 minutes after the trauma and in 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 24 consecutive hours later.

RESULTS: GFAP has a peak, and its peak level at hours 1 and 2 in rats subjected to a minor head trauma, with a slight decrease afterwards.

CONCLUSIONS: GFAP is an important marker in determining the severity of traumatic brain injury.

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