[Modified neurological tests for evaluating the severity of cerebral infarction and estimating the infarct area in rats].
OBJECTIVE
To test the reliability of quantitative neurological tests in evaluating the neurological deficits in rat models of cerebral ischemia.


METHODS
Forty male SD rats (7 to 9 weeks old) were subjected to transient (1 h) middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) to induce cerebral infarction and 9 received sham operation only. The motor and sensory functions of the rats were measured before and 1, 3, 7 and 14 days after MCAO by accelerating rotarod test and modified adhesive removal test. Fourteen days later, the rats were sacrificed for histological examination, and the lesion size was determined by Winroof image analysis. The neurological deficits of the rats with different lesion sizes and at different time points were analyzed.


RESULTS
According to the infarct size, the rats after MCAO were divided into two subgroups with large lesions [(68.56+/-12.54)%] affecting both the cortical area and basal ganglia and small lesions [(12.45+/-9.06)%] affecting the basal ganglia. Significant differences in the results of modified adhesive removal test and rotarod test were found between the two groups, and a liner relationship was noted between the lesion size and the results of the neurological tests.


CONCLUSIONS
The modified quantitative neurological tests can reliably evaluate the severity of the infarction and estimate the infarct size in rats with cerebral infarction.
Guan
Yu-qing
YQ
Department of Neurology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China. guanyqww@gmail.com
Lu
Bing-xun
BX
D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D020244:Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D009460:Neurologic Examination; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012720:Severity of Illness Index