Objective:Tostudythecorrelationbetweenbrainedema,elevatedintracranialpressure(ICP)andcellapoptosisintraumaticbraininjury(TBI).Methods:Inthisstudy,totally42rabbitsin7groupswerestudied.Sixoftheanimalswereidentifiedasacontrolgroup,andtheremaining36animalswereequallypidedinto6TBIgroups.TBImodelswereproducedbythemodifiedmethodofFeeney.Aftertheimpact,ICPofeachsubjectwasrecordedcontinuouslybyanICPmonitoruntiltheanimalwassacrificedatscheduledtime.Theapoptoticbraincellsweredetectedbyanterminaldeoxynucleotide-transferase-mediateddUTP-digoxigeninnickendlabeling(TUNEL)assay.Cerebralwatercontent(CWC)wasmeasuredwithadryingmethodandcalculatedaccordingtotheElliottformula.Then,ananalysiswasconductedtodeterminethecorrelationbetweenthecountofapoptoticcellsandtheclinicalpathologicalchangesofthebrain.Results:Apoptoticcellcountbegantoincrease2haftertheimpact,andreacheditsmaximumabout3daysaftertheimpact.ThepeakvalueofCWCandICPappeared1dayand3daysaftertheimpact,respectively.ApoptoticcellcounthadapositivecorrelationwithCWCandICP.Conclusions:InTBI,occurrenceofbrainedemaandICPincreasemightleadtoapoptosisofbraincells.Anytherapywhichcanrelievebrainedemaand/ordecreaseICPwouldbeabletoreduceneuronapoptosis,therebytoattenuatethesecondarybraindamage.
