A technique for producing demyelination of the rat optic nerves.

Demyelination is a major cause of neurological disability within the human population, and the end product of a number of pathological processes, though the most common is the disease multiple sclerosis. This disease commonly affects the optic pathway, particularly the optic nerve and chiasm. This paper reports a novel technique of producing chemical glial toxin induced demyelination in the rat optic nerves and chiasm by the direct instillation of the glial toxin ethidium bromide into the rat cranial subarachnoid space causing demyelination of the optic nerves and chiasm. This model, because of its involvement of the optic pathways, will allow both histological and functional assessments of the processes of demyelination and remyelination in the rat animal model.