Animal models of ischemic brain injury

Clinically, thromboembolism is involved in 80–90% of stroke cases and the majority of ischemic episodes occur as a result of occlusion of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) or its branches. To develop a therapeutic treatment for stroke patients and to study the mechanisms affecting neuronal death in ischemic stroke, a proper animal model is necessary. Ischemic brain injury can be induced by clamping or inserting a filament into the supplying artery, and these models have contributed significantly to our understanding of pathophysiology in this disease. An embolic model of stroke, however, is more clinically relevant since the artery is occluded by clots, as occurs in stroke patients. Our lab has developed two embolic models of ischemic brain injury by embolyzing preformed clots into the MCA directly.

A model of ischemic brain injury