Photochemicallly Induced Thrombosis as a Model of Ischemic Stroke

Better understanding of ischemic brain injury mechanisms is important for the development and improvement of diagnostic and therapeutic modalities for management of ischemic stroke. As experimental studies are on demand, there’s a need for relevant models of focal brain lesions. Photochemically induced thrombosis remains one of the most popular models of ischemic stroke.
The purpose of the review is to consider the pathogenesis and applicational relevance of the photochemical thrombosis in ischemic stroke modeling.
Material and methods. The information was searched using PubMed and Google Scholar databases and keywords «photothrombotic stroke» without language restrictions. 74 papers out of more than 600 sources were found the most relevant for the purpose of this review and selected for the analysis. Of these, more than 50% have been published in the last five years. The criterion for excluding a source was an inconsistency with the objectives of the review and low information content.
Results. We outlined a variety of features in modeling photothrombotic stroke, analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of the model, presented data on current method’s modifications, as well as approaches to evaluation of brain lesions in ischemic stroke induced by photothrombosis, and summarized information about the mechanisms of brain damage induced in this model.
Conclusion. Several advantages of the photothrombotic stroke model, such as low invasiveness, high reproducibility, inherent control of brain infarction volume and low mortality, determine its active use in experimental studies of ischemic stroke. Pathological processes in the brain modeled by photochemical thrombosis are similar to the processes occurring in acute ischemic cerebral circulation events. Therefore, this model provides insights into cellular and molecular mechanisms of ischemic brain damage, and can be used for developing novel therapeutic approaches for management of ischemic stroke.

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