Table 3.

Stroke models in vivo: illustrations of stroke models with a schematic representation of the affected areas (core and penumbra), and advantages and disadvantages of each model.

In vivo Stroke Model	Advantages	Disadvantages
A. Intraluminal suture MCAO model	○Resembles human stroke in location ○Mimics core and penumbra ○Reperfusion highly controllable ○No craniectomy	○Significant welfare effects include death, abnormal/reduced motility, weight loss, and difficulties eating and drinking ○Filament use is an all-or-nothing strategy, not representative of the clinical presentation ○Not suitable for thrombolysis studies
B. Electrocoagulation of MCA model	○Resembles human stroke in location ○Uses the cranial window to directly occlude the MCA or vessel of interest ○Visual confirmation of successful MCAO	○Permanent ischemia ○Craniectomy
C. Embolic stroke model	○Mimics more closely the pathogenesis of human stroke ○Appropriate for studies of thrombolytic agents	○Spontaneous recanalization ○High variability of lesion size
D. Endothelin-1 model	○Applied directly to the vessel of interest ○Low invasiveness ○Severity and duration of ischemia depend on ET-1 concentration	○Topical peptide administration serves as a source of variation ○Low infarct reproducibility
E. Photothrombosis model	○Enables well-defined localization of ischemic region ○Highly reproducible ○Low invasiveness ○Low mortality	○Lack of penumbra ○Not suitable for investigating protective agents

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