Table I.

Neurological deficit score and infarct volume of rats 24, 36 and 72 h after the ischemia-reperfusion injury.

	Neurological deficit
Group	n	24 h	36 h	72 h	Infarct volume, mm3 (n=5/group)
Sham	36	0	0	0	0
EPO-sham	31	0	0	0	0
MCAO	39	3.5±0.4a	3.1±0.5a	2.6±0.8a	166±21a
EPO-MCAO	34	1.5±0.3a,b	1.4±0.4a,b	1.2±0.6a,b	52±15a,b

^aP<0.01 vs. the sham group;

^bP<0.01 vs. the MCAO group. Data are presented as the mean ± standard deviation. EPO, erythropoietin; MCAO, middle cerebral artery occlusion.