Debris generated by laser and/or balloon cause cerebral infarction with different severity

The purpose of this study is to determine the effects that debris generated by laser and/or balloon on the brain. Debris generated by laser, balloon, and laser combined with balloon were collected and then injected into rats’ left common carotid artery. Rats were divided into five groups: sham, saline, laser (L), balloon (B), and laser combined with balloon (LB). The cognition ability of rats was evaluated by Morris water maze. Cerebral blood flow (CBF) was examined by laser speckle. TTC staining and MRI scan were conducted to detect cerebral ischemic infarction. Intracranial arteries in rats were visualized by MRI angiography via contrast medium injected via tail vein. Immunohistologic staining for NeuN and Iba1 and hematoxylin–eosin staining were performed to assess brain infarction. White matter demyelination was assessed by Luxol fast blue staining. Long-term memory and CBF of rats in different groups exhibited no significant difference. No obstruction sign in intracranial artery tree was noticed in each group. Debris generated by different treatments all caused brain infarction. Infarction lesion caused by debris produced by balloon was much more severe than the one caused by debris generated by laser. While the LB group lay in between. The thickness of white matter decreased in the B group, but not in the L and LB groups. Rat brain has a tolerance for debris as cognition ability and cerebral blood flow are not significantly declined. The severity of cerebral infarction varies by debris generated by different treatments.