Journal of stroke and cerebrovascular diseases : the official journal of National Stroke Association
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J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis · Jul 2009
Experimental model of brainstem stroke in rabbits via endovascular occlusion of the basilar artery.
Basilar artery thrombosis remains a significant clinical problem, and no reproducible animal model has been established to study the stroke within the vertebrobasilar distribution. We report a study designed to pilot test a novel model of brainstem stroke in rabbits, created by selective endovascular occlusion of the basilar artery. ⋯ These results suggest that a reproducible model of brainstem stroke can be induced in rabbits using selective endovascular occlusion of the basilar artery. The availability of such a model, integrated with state-of-the-art imaging techniques, holds promise for preclinical investigations of emergent therapeutic approaches in stroke.