Neurological Function Assessment
Objective: Evaluation of neurological performance and recovery following focal cerebral ischemia induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion, with assessment of VEGF effects on neuroprotection, neurogenesis, and angiogenesis
This is a Neurological Function Assessment protocol using rat as the model organism. The procedure involves 6 procedural steps, 1 equipment items, 3 materials. Extracted from a 2003 paper published in Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Model and subjects
rat • adult rat • unknown • adult • not specified
Study window
~1.5 hours hands-on
Core workflow
Focal Cerebral Ischemia Induction • Reperfusion and VEGF Administration • Infarct Size Measurement
Primary readouts
- Infarct size
- Neurological performance
- Delayed survival of newborn neurons in dentate gyrus and subventricular zone
- Angiogenesis in striatal ischemic penumbra
Key equipment and reagents
Use this page as an execution guide, then fall back to the source paper whenever you need exact exclusions, dosing details, or assay-specific caveats.
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- Verify the animal model, intervention setup, and collection timepoints against the source paper.
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Protocol Steps
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Focal Cerebral Ischemia Induction
Produce focal cerebral ischemia by middle cerebral artery occlusion in adult rat brain
Note: MCAO procedure performed on adult rats
View evidence from paper
“We produced focal cerebral ischemia by middle cerebral artery occlusion for 90 minutes in the adult rat brain”
Reperfusion and VEGF Administration
Allow reperfusion following ischemia and administer VEGF intracerebroventricularly
Note: VEGF administered on days 1, 2, and 3 following reperfusion
View evidence from paper
“intracerebroventricular administration of VEGF on days 1–3 of reperfusion”
Infarct Size Measurement
Measure infarct size in brain tissue following ischemia
Note: Performed with and without VEGF treatment
View evidence from paper
“measured infarct size, neurological function”
Neurological Function Assessment
Evaluate neurological performance and recovery
Note: Assessed with and without VEGF administration
View evidence from paper
“measured infarct size, neurological function”
BrdU Labeling of Neuroproliferative Zones
Label neuroproliferative zones with BrdU to identify newborn neurons
Note: Assesses neurogenesis in dentate gyrus and subventricular zone
View evidence from paper
“BrdU labeling of neuroproliferative zones”
Vascular Profile Assessment
Visualize and quantify vascular profiles using vWF-immunoreactive markers
Note: Measures angiogenesis in striatal ischemic penumbra and dentate gyrus
View evidence from paper
“vWF-immunoreactive vascular profiles”