Evaluation of the behavioral, histopathological, and immunohistochemical effects resulting from ventriculosubcutaneous shunt obstruction in kaolin-induced hydrocephalus in rats

Hydrocephalus is a brain disease prevalent in the pediatric population that presents complex pathophysiology and multiple etiologies. The best treatment is still ventricular shunting. Mechanical obstruction is the most frequent complication, but the resulting pathological effects are still unknown.

Evaluation and comparison of clinical, histopathological, and immunohistochemical aspects in the acute phase of experimental hydrocephalus induced by kaolin, after treatment with adapted shunt, and after shunt obstruction and posterior disobstruction.

Wistar rats aged 7 days were used and divided into 4 groups: control group without kaolin injection (n = 6), untreated hydrocephalic group (n = 5), hydrocephalic group treated with ventriculosubcutaneous shunt (DVSC) (n = 7), and hydrocephalic group treated with shunt, posteriorly obstructed and disobstructed (n = 5). The animals were submitted to memory and spatial learning evaluation through the Morris water maze test. The rats were sacrificed at 28 days of age and histological analysis of the brains was performed with luxol fast blue, in addition to immunohistochemical analysis in order to evaluate reactive astrocytosis, inflammation, neuronal labeling, and apoptotic activity.

The group with shunt obstruction had worse performance in memory tests. Reactive astrocytosis was more evident in this group, as was the inflammatory response.

Obstruction of the shunt results in impaired performance of behavioral tests and causes irreversible histopathological changes when compared to findings in the group with treated hydrocephalus, even after unblocking the system. The developed model is feasible and efficient in simulating the clinical context of shunt dysfunction.