title: [Comparison of the lesion produced by permanent focal cerebral ischaemia in three animal models using magnetic resonance imaging].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Animal models of brain ischemia are essential to reveal the full aspects of cerebrovascular pathologies. The perfect animal model that reflects every aspect of stroke pathophysiology does not exist, hence there is a need for a proper selection of the animal model in order to interpret properly the results from experimental research.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To characterize and compare the temporal evolution of three common models of focal brain ischemia using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty Sprague-Dawley rats were distributed into three groups, each of them submitted to one of the following surgery procedures: middle cerebral artery (MCA) intracranial suture, MCA electrocoagulation, and MCA intraluminal suture. Each rat was subjected to an MRI study at days 1, 2, 3, 4, 7 and 14 post-surgery. T2 weighted images were obtained in order to calculate both lesion volumes and edema.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Infarct volume and edema were maximal for the intraluminal model (peaks of mean 297 ± 163 mm3 and mean 17 ± 9%, respectively) compared to intracranial suture (178 ± 62 mm3 and 9 ± 6%, respectively) and electrocoagulation (181 ± 45 mm3 and 9 ± 6%, respectively) models.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The intraluminal occlusion of the MCA model, although yields in the highest mortality rate (28%), it is the more suitable for long term studies, mainly because of the absence of craniotomy. In the electrocoagulation model a non ischemic lesion region is observed which leads to an abnormal lesion evolution as compared with the other two models.
authors.affiliation: Hospital Clinico de Santiago de Compostela, 15706 Santiago de Compostela, Espana.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Agulla
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Argibay
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Perez-Mato
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Brea
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ramos-Cabrer
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Castillo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply / Q000473:pathology; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D020244:Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery / Q000473:pathology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D020521:Stroke / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology