A Rat Model of Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion/Reperfusion without Damaging the Anatomical Structure of Cerebral Vessels.

Ischemic stroke stands as the primary cause of long-term disability and mortality among adults worldwide. Animal models of ischemic stroke have significantly contributed to our understanding of its pathological mechanisms and the development of potential treatments. Presently, there are two common methods involving filament (endovascular suture) techniques to induce animal models of cerebral ischemia. However, these methods have inherent limitations, such as reduced blood perfusion to the brain, damage to the external carotid artery system, impaired food and/or water intake, and sensory dysfunction of the face. This article introduces a new method for inducing a rat ischemic stroke model without compromising the cerebral vascular anatomy. In this study, the common carotid artery (CCA) of Sprague-Dawley rats was exposed, and an incision was made. A filament was then inserted through the incision into the internal carotid artery to occlude the middle cerebral artery. After 1.5 h of induced ischemia, the occluding filament was fully removed from both the internal carotid artery and the CCA. The incision in the CCA was subsequently sutured using 11-0 microsurgical sutures under a microscope (magnification 4x). Through the utilization of microsurgical techniques to repair the CCA, this study successfully developed a unique method to induce an ischemic stroke model in rats while preserving the anatomical integrity of cerebral blood vessels.

Antinociceptive effects of carbidopa levodopa on normal rats and Parkinson's disease mice.

Carbidopa levodopa is widely used to ameliorate motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. Pain is one of common symptoms of PD. The aim of this experiment is to study antinociceptive effects of carbidopa levodopa on normal rats and PD mice. Rats were intragastrically treated with carbidopa levodopa and the hind paw withdrawal latency (HWL) was investigated. PD mouse model was prepared with MPTP and then the antinociceptive effects of carbidopa levodopa on PD mice were evaluated. In normal rats, the HWL to thermal stimulus was augmented after carbidopa levodopa administration (p<0.05 or p<0.01) and carbidopa levodopa increased the HWL (p<0.05 or p<0.01) to mechanical stimulus. In PD mice, carbidopa levodopa elevated the HWL of the thermal stimulus in PD mice (p<0.05). Furthermore, the HWL in the inflammatory pain of PD mice was also increased by carbidopa levodopa treatmet (p<0.01). The current findings indicate that carbidopa levodopa has an antinociceptive effects in normal rats and PD mice. The analgesic effect of carbidopa levodopa on patients with or without PD is worth studying in further research.