Demyelination and remyelination after multiple intramedullary injections of ethidium bromide in Wistar rats

The ethidium bromide model of demyelination has been employed to study the central nervous system response to several episodes of demyelination. Twenty-seven Wistar rats received 2 to 4 intraspinal injections of 1 mu l of either 0.1% ethidium bromide in normal saline (19 rats) or saline 0.9% (8 rats) in different anatomical locations. The intervals between the injections ranged from 28 to 42 days. Ten days after the last injection all the rats were perfused with 2.5% glutaraldehyde. The spinal sections were evaluated macroscopically and by light and transmission electron microscopy. The lesions were typical of focal primary demyelination with preserved vascular structures and followed by remyelinization and varied in size and histological aspects. After multiple sequential ethidium bromide injections, the central nervous system seems to modify its response capacity to an inflammatory challenge although there is no change in its pattern of remyelination.