title: Photochemically induced ischemic stroke in rats.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Photothrombosis was introduced as a model of ischemic stroke by Watson et al. in 1985. In the present paper, we describe a protocol to induce photothrombotic infarcts in rats.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The photosensitive dye Bengal Rose is intravenously administered and a laser beam is stereotactically positioned onto the skull. Illumination through the intact skull leads to local activation of Bengal Rose, which results in free radical formation, disturbance of endothelial function and thrombus formation in illuminated small cortical vessels.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Photochemically induced infarcts cause long-term sensorimotor deficits, allow long-term survival and are particularly suitable to assess the effectiveness of neuroregenerative therapies in chronic stroke studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Münster, Albert-Schweitzer-Campus 1, Gebäude A1, 48149, Münster, Germany.
authors.forename: Antje
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Münster, Albert-Schweitzer-Campus 1, Gebäude A1, 48149, Münster, Germany.
authors.forename: Maike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hoppen
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Münster, Albert-Schweitzer-Campus 1, Gebäude A1, 48149, Münster, Germany.
authors.forename: Jan-Kolja
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Strecker
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Münster, Albert-Schweitzer-Campus 1, Gebäude A1, 48149, Münster, Germany.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Diederich
authors.affiliation: EVK Bielefeld, Bethel, Neurologische Klinik, Burgsteig 13, 33617, Bielefeld, Germany.
authors.forename: Wolf-Rüdiger
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Schäbitz
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Münster, Albert-Schweitzer-Campus 1, Gebäude A1, 48149, Münster, Germany.
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schilling
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Münster, Albert-Schweitzer-Campus 1, Gebäude A1, 48149, Münster, Germany.
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Minnerup