EN
Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability in humans. Animal models of stroke simulate the human pathology and can help to develop the effective therapies. One of such models is the photothrombosis model in which cerebral ischemia is induced photochemically by injecting the photosensitive dye. The advantages of this model are the small infarct size, minimal surgical manipulation of the animal. Despite the strong connection of stroke with aging process, the majority of experimental studies are conducted in young or adult animals. Here we have used young (3 months old) and aged (12 months old) mice to produce the small (about 2 mm in diameter) infarct neighboring the primary somatosensory barrel cortex area and including the whole depth of cortex. After 7-day reconvalescence we have analyzed the presence and size of the evoked infarct. In both groups stroke has evoked similar changes in cortex cytoarchitecture, however we found that aging has decreased the method effectiveness of about 25%. Moreover, comparing to young animals, in old mice size and extent of infarct evoked with the same parameters and conditions were much less unrepeatable. It can be associated with changes of the nervous system physiology with age that concern the blood fl ow, diameter of blood vessels, metabolism and physiology of neurons and glial cells. Alternatively, older mice may have adapted functionally to age-dependent damage. Supported by the Scientifi c Network: Biovision SNB-504-8.