Three-dimensional visualization of cerebral microhemorrhages and surrounding microvasculature in hypertension

Cerebral microhemorrhages (CMHs) occur due to ruptures in cerebral microvessels that cause deposits of blood in the brain. Hypertension (HTN) is a major risk factor for CMHs, which have been associated with cognitive decline and ischemic strokes. Despite the clinical significance of CMHs, our understanding of CMH formation remains limited. To address this gap, our group has employed a perfusion-based vascular label with tissue clearing to enable three-dimensional visualization of CMHs with the surrounding microvasculature in HTN mice. Vessel diameters surrounding a CMH were approximately 4.22±0.81 µm. Vessel density in CMH positive tissue regions was approximately 0.083±0.017 µm-1.