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Age‐related susceptibility to brain ischemia in mice
Author(s) -
FuentesVargas Monica,
SantiagoMejia Jacinto,
Pinzon Enrique,
Rodriguez Rodolfo
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
drug development research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.582
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1098-2299
pISSN - 0272-4391
DOI - 10.1002/ddr.10149
Subject(s) - medicine , ischemia , carotid arteries , young adult , survival analysis , survival rate , cardiology , surgery
In this study, we evaluated the effect of age on survival and on neurological alterations produced by bilateral sequential common carotid artery (CCA) sectioning in mice. Male mice, 3–4 (young), 20–30 (adult), and 40–60 (aged) weeks old, underwent sequential CCA sectioning at an interval of 32 days. After the second surgery, mortality was registered continuously over a period of 24 h and thereafter every 24 h up to 3 days. Neurological assessment was performed 24 h after the second surgery. The influence of age on survival was analyzed using a log‐rank test, and survival curves were generated by the Kaplan‐Meier method. In mice with previous left CCA sectioning, sectioning of the contralateral artery induced a wide range of neurological alterations and a high mortality rate. Young and aged animals had a significantly lower ( P < 0.05) survival rate as compared to adults (3, 6, 9, and 12 h after the second surgery), thus confirming that young and aged animals are, in fact, less resistant to brain ischemia. In contrast, the percentage of mice showing severe neurological alterations increased with age. This observation coincides with clinical evidence showing that elderly tend to have a worse outcome than younger patients do. These findings indicate that, besides morphological changes, studies of influence of age on the susceptibility to brain ischemia should include mortality and functional endpoints. Drug Dev. Res. 57:161–166, 2002. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.