TMB—8对脑缺血大鼠脑血流量的作用

目的 研究8－（N，N－二乙胺）－n－辛基－3，4，5－三甲氧基苯甲酸酯（TMB－8）对局灶性脑缺血大鼠脑血流量（CBF）的作用。方法 用激光多谱勒血流仪测量大脑中动脉阻断（MCAO）大鼠脑血流量。分别于阻断前30分钟和阻断后20分钟给予TMB－8进行干预。结果 MCAO后，CBF迅速下降，维持恒定。阻断前30分钟给予TMB－8 0．5、1和2mg/kg，可剂量依赖性抑制CBF下降，阻断后20分钟给予TMB－8 1mg/kg，也能明显增加CBF。结论 TMB－8能预防和治疗MCAO局灶性脑缺血大鼠CBF减少，改善缺血区血供。     

Ischemic axonal injury and its recovery after focal cerebral ischemia

After focal cerebral infarction by occluding the middle cerebral artery (MCA) of the rat, the neuronal death occurred in the ipsilateral thalamic neurons, because axons of the thalamic neurons were injured by infarction and retrograde degeneration occurred in the thalamic neurons. However, cortical neurons adjacent to the infarction survived despite their axons injured by ischemia. We employed immunohistochemical staining for 200 kilodalton (kD) neurofilament (NF), in order to study those responses of cortical and thalamic neurons against axonal injury caused by focal cerebral infarction. In the sham operated rats the immunoreactivity to the anti-200 kD NF antibody was only detected in the axon but not in the cell bodies and dendrites. At 3 days after MCA occlusion, axonal swelling proximal to the site of ischemic injury was found in the caudoputamen and internal capsule of the ipsilateral side. At 7 days after occlusion, cell bodies and dendrites of the neurons in the ipsilateral cortex and thalamus were strongly stained with anti-NF antibodies. At 2 weeks after occlusion these responses disappeared in the cortex, but lasted in the thalamus. These phenomena are caused by stasis of the slow axonal transport, because the NF is transported by slow axonal transport. In the cortical neurons impairment of slow axonal transport recovered in the early phase after injury, but in the thalamic neurons the impairment prolonged up to 3 weeks after occlusion. The early recovery of axonal transport from ischemia seemed to be essential for survival of neurons after ischemic axonal injury.     

Magnetic resonance imaging of regional hemodynamic and cerebrovascular recovery after lateral fluid-percussion brain injury in rats

Hemodynamic and cerebrovascular factors are crucially involved in secondary damage after traumatic brain injury (TBI). With magnetic resonance imaging, this study aimed to quantify regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) by arterial spin labeling and cerebral blood volume by using an intravascular contrast agent, during 14 days after lateral fluid-percussion injury (LFPI) in rats. Immunohistochemical analysis of vessel density was used to evaluate the contribution of vascular damage. Results show widespread ipsilateral and contralateral hypoperfusion, including both the cortex and the hippocampus bilaterally, as well as the ipsilateral thalamus. Hemodynamic unrest may partly be explained by an increase in blood vessel density over a period of 2 weeks in the ipsilateral hippocampus and perilesional cortex. Furthermore, three phases of perilesional alterations in CBF, progressing from hypoperfusion to normal and back to hypoperfusion within 2 weeks were shown for the first time in a rat TBI model. These three phases were similar to hemodynamic fluctuations reported in TBI patients. This makes it feasible to use LFPI in rats to study mechanisms behind hemodynamic changes and to explore novel therapeutic approaches for secondary brain damage after TBI.     

Cerebral hyperperfusion after carotid endarterectomy is associated with preoperative hemodynamic impairment and intraoperative cerebral ischemia.

The aim of this study was to investigate whether postoperative hyperperfusion is associated with preoperative cerebral hemodynamic impairment due to chronic ischemia and with acute cerebral ischemia during clamping of the internal carotid artery (ICA) during carotid endarterectomy (CEA). Transcranial cerebral oxygen saturation (SO2) was monitored intraoperatively using near-infrared spectroscopy in 89 patients undergoing CEA for ipsilateral ICA stenosis (>70%). Cerebral blood flow (CBF) and cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) to acetazolamide were also measured using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) before CEA. In addition, CBF was measured immediately after CEA and on the third postoperative day. Hyperperfusion (CBF increase>100% compared with preoperative values) was observed immediately after CEA in 10 of 18 patients (56%) with reduced preoperative CVR. Also, post-CEA hyperperfusion was observed in nine of 16 patients (56%) whose SO2 during clamping of the ICA decreased to less than 90% of the preclamping value. Logistic regression analysis showed that reduced preoperative CVR and reduced SO2 during ICA clamping were significant independent predictors of the development of hyperperfusion immediately after CEA. In fact, all patients with reduced preoperative CVR and reduced SO2 during ICA clamping developed post-CEA hyperperfusion, and two of these patients developed cerebral hyperperfusion syndrome. These data suggest that development of cerebral hyperperfusion after CEA is associated with preoperative hemodynamic impairment and intraoperative cerebral ischemia.     

Effect of the kappa-1 opioid agonist CI-977 on ischemic brain damage and cerebral blood flow after middle cerebral artery occlusion in the rat

The effects of the kappa-1 opioid agonist CI-977 upon the volume of ischemic brain damage (defined using quantitative neuropathology) and local cerebral blood flow (CBF) (defined using quantitative [¹⁴C]iodoantipyrine autoradiography) have been examined at 4 h and 30 min, respectively, after permanent middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion in halothane-anesthetised rats. Treatment with CI-977 (0.3 mg/kg, s.c.) 30 min before and 30 min after occlusion of the MCA reduced the volume of infarction in the cerebral hemisphere (reduced by 27% when compared to vehicle;P<0.05) and cerebral cortex (reduced by 32%;P<0.05), despite a marked and sustained hypotension, with only minimal effect on damage in the caudate nucleus. In the hemisphere contralateral to the occluded MCA, treatment with CI-977 (0.3 mg/kg, s.c.) 30 min prior to the induction of ischemia failed to demonstrate any significant effect on either the level of local CBF in any of the 25 regions examined or on the volume of low CBF determined by frequency distribution analysis. In the hemisphere ipsilateral to MCA occlusion, CI-977 failed to produce statistically significant alterations in either the level of local CBF in 23 of the 25 regions or on the volume of low CBF, but areas of hyperemia were observed in both the medial caudate nucleus and lateral thalamus (local CBF increased by 65% and 86%, respectively, when compared to vehicle). The results of the present study indicate that the kappa-1 opioid agonist CI-977 is neuroprotective in a rat model of focal cerebral ischemia where key physiological variables have been assessed throughout the entire post-ischemic period, and fail to demonstrate that the neuroprotective effects of CI-977 in this model are due to improved blood flow to ischemic tissue.     

兴奋性氨基酸受体拮抗剂2APH可改善猫局部脑缺血时脑血流量

目的：研究ＮＭＤＡ受体拮抗剂２ＡＰＨ对猫局部脑缺血时皮层脑血量的影响。方法：用氢清除率法测定猫局部脑缺血时皮层脑血流量。结果：给予２ＡＰＨ可明显恢复局灶性脑缺血不同时间时降低了脑血量。结论：ＮＭＤＡ受体拮抗剂不仅能对抗ＥＡＡ时缺血神经元的神经毒性作用，而且能改善缺血大脑的血流量。     

Impaired cerebral autoregulation 24 h after induction of transient unilateral focal ischaemia in the rat

Cerebral blood flow (CBF) and cerebral autoregulation have been investigated 24 h after transient focal ischaemia in the rat. Cerebral blood flow was measured autoradiographically before and during a moderate hypotensive challenge, to test autoregulatory responses, using two CBF tracers, (99m)Tc-d,l-hexamethylproyleneamine oxide and 14C-iodoantipyrine. Prior to induced hypotension, CBF was significantly reduced within areas of infarction; cortex (28 +/- 20 compared with 109 +/- 23 mL/100 g/min contralateral to ischaemic focus, P = 0.001) and caudate (57 +/- 31 compared with 141 +/- 32 mL/100 g/min contralaterally, P = 0.005). The hypotensive challenge (mean arterial pressure reduced to 60 mmHg by increasing halothane concentration) did not compromise grey matter autoregulation in the contralateral hemisphere; CBF data were not significantly different at normotension and during hypotension. However, in the ipsilateral hemisphere, a significant volume of cortex adjacent to the infarct, which exhibited normal flow at normotension, became oligaemic during the hypotensive challenge (e.g. frontal parietal cortex 109 +/- 15% to 65 +/- 15% of cerebellar flow, P < 0.01). This resulted in a 2.5-fold increase in the volume of cortex which fell below 50% cerebellar flow (39 +/- 34 to 97 +/- 46 mm3, P = 0.003). Moderate hypotension induced a significant reduction in CBF in both ipsilateral and contralateral subcortical white matter (P < 0.01). In peri-infarct caudate tissue, CBF was not significantly affected by hypotension. In conclusion, a significant volume of histologically normal cortex within the middle cerebral artery territory was found to have essentially normal levels of CBF but impaired autoregulatory function at 24 h post-ischaemia.     

Cerebral microembolization in the rat: Changes in blood-brain barrier permeability and cerebral blood flow as related to the degree of ischemia

Unilateral cerebral microembolism was performed in the rat by injecting calibrated, 50 micrometers in diameter, carbonized microspheres into the internal carotid artery. The events that follow brain ischemia due to cerebral embolization were studied by the analysis of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) function, the degree of regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) and the development of brain edema. Two hours after embolization there was no change in the brain water content. The local CBF (14C-ethanol technique) was only reduced in the ipsilateral hemisphere. Twenty-four hours after embolization the brain water content was increased significantly in the ipsilateral, but not in the contralateral hemisphere. Local CBF further decreased in the ipsilateral hemisphere and a reduction in flow was also observed in the contralateral hemisphere. Embolization led to an increase in the BBB permeability, analysed as regional penetrability of 3H-dextran and of Evans blue-albumin complexes, which was restricted to the side of the injection of the microspheres.     

Regional cerebral ischemia in the gerbil: measurement of regional cerebral blood flow by quantitative autoradiography

Alterations in the regional CBF after occlusion of the posterior communicating, middle cerebral, or common carotid artery were investigated in the gerbil with a quantitative autoradiographic technique using [14C]iodoantipyrine. Occlusion of the posterior communicating artery produced severe ischemia in the ipsilateral hippocampus, thalamus, and dorsal mesencephalon. Occlusion of the middle cerebral artery produced severe ischemia in the ipsilateral rostral and central cerebral cortex and lateral caudate-putamen. Occlusion of the common carotid artery produced ipsilateral hemispheric ischemia of variable degrees. The distribution and degree of cerebral ischemia produced by occlusion of one of these arteries correlated closely to the arterial territory and the extent of collateral blood supply. Since the areas affected after occlusion of the posterior communicating or middle cerebral artery differ, those models will be useful for the comparative investigation of the ischemia-related cerebral pathophysiology associated with different sites of primary lesion.     

去骨瓣减压术对大鼠局灶性脑缺血后脑水肿、血脑屏障、脑血流变化的影响

目的:观察去骨瓣减压术对局灶性脑缺血大鼠脑水肿、血脑屏障(BBB)及脑血流(CBF)的影响,探讨该手术对缺血性脑损害的保护机制。方法:改良Koizumi′s法制作脑缺血大鼠动物模型,脑缺血后6h行去骨瓣减压术,分别在术后3和7d观察脑水肿和血脑屏障的变化,另持续观察缺血1h 去骨瓣减压2h的CBF变化。结果:去骨瓣减压术后半暗区CBF增加更加持久和有效,在术后第3天时BBB破坏范围明显缩小,术后第7天时脑水含量明显降低。结论:去骨瓣减压术对局灶性脑缺血的保护作用可能与增加半暗区CBF、改善BBB破坏和减轻脑水肿有关。     

Glial Damage After Transient Focal Cerebral Ischemia in Rats

We investigated the immunohistochemical changes of 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) immunoreactivity as a marker of DNA damage and single-strand DNA (ssDNA) immunoreactivity as a marker of apoptosis in the striatum from 1 up to 15 days after 90 min of focal cerebral ischemia caused by middle cerebral artery occlusion in rats. In the present study, marked loss of MAP2 immunostaining was observed in the ipsilateral striatum 3 days after focal cerebral ischemia. A significant increase in the number of ssDNA-immunoreactive apoptotic neurons was observed in the ipsilateral striatum 1 and 3 days after focal cerebral ischemia. In contrast, a significant increase in densities of 8-OHdG-immunopositive cells was observed in the ipsilateral striatum from 3 up to 15 days after focal cerebral ischemia. Our double-labeled immunochemical study showed that 8-OHdG immunoreactivity was observed in both isolectin B₄-positive microglia and glial fibrillary acidic protein-immunopositive astrocytes in the ipsilateral striatum 7 days after focal cerebral ischemia. These results suggest that focal cerebral ischemia can cause a marked increase in the number of microglia and astrocytes with oxidative DNA damage in the ipsilateral striatum. Furthermore, our results show that most microglia and astrocytes in the ipsilateral striatum after focal cerebral ischemia may not die by apoptosis. Thus, our findings provide novel evidence that focal cerebral ischemia can cause oxidative DNA damage in most microglia and astrocytes.     

Cerebral blood flow and tissue metabolism in experimental cerebral ischemia of spontaneously hypertensive rats with hyper-, normo-, and hypoglycemia

The present study was designed to clarify the effect of blood glucose level on cerebral blood flow and metabolism during and after acute cerebral ischemia induced by bilateral carotid ligation (BCL) in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Blood glucose levels were varied by intraperitoneal infusion of 50% of glucose (hyperglycemia), insulin with hypertonic saline (hypoglycemia) or hypertonic saline (normoglycemia). Cerebral blood flow (CBF) in the parietal cortex and thalamus was measured by hydrogen clearance technique, and the supratentorial metabolites of the brain frozen in situ were determined by the enzymatic method. In non-ischemic animals, blood glucose levels had no influence on the supratentorial lactate, pyruvate or adenosine triphosphate (ATP) concentrations. In ischemic animals, however, cortical CBF was reduced to less than 1% of the resting value at 3 hours after BCL. However, there were no substantial differences of CBF during and after ischemia among 3 glycemic groups. Cerebral lactate in the ischemic brain greatly increased in hyperglycemia (34.97 +/- 1.29 mmol/kg), moderately in normoglycemia (23.43 +/- 3.13 mmol/kg) and less in hypoglycemia (7.20 +/- 1.54 mmol/kg). In contrast, cerebral ATP decreased in hyperglycemia (0.93 +/- 0.19 mmol/kg) as much as it did in normoglycemia (1.04 +/- 0.25 mmol/kg), while ATP reduction was much greater in hypoglycemia (0.45 +/- 0.05 mmol/kg). At 1-hour recirculation after 3-hour ischemia, ATP tended to increase in all groups of animals, indicating the recovery of energy metabolism. Such metabolic recovery after recirculation was good in hypo- and normoglycemia, and was also evident in hyperglycemia. Our results suggest that hyperglycemia is not necessarily an unfavorable condition in acute incomplete cerebral ischemia.     

Late reversal of cerebral perfusion and water diffusion after transient focal ischemia in rats.

Region-specific cerebral blood flow (CBF) and the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of tissue water in the rat brain were quantified by high-field magnetic resonance imaging at 9.4 T in the rat suture occlusion model. Cerebral blood flow and ADC were compared during the short- (4.5 hours) and long-term (up to 6 days) reperfusion after 80 minutes of transient middle cerebral artery occlusion, and correlated with the histology analysis. On occlusion, average CBF fell from approximately 100 to less than 50 mL x 100 g(-1) x min(-1) in the cortex, and to less than 20 mL x 100 g(-1) x min(-1) in the caudate putamen (CP). Corresponding ADC values decreased from (6.98 +/- 0.82) x 10(-4) to (5.49 +/- 0.54) x 10(-4) mm2/s in the cortex, and from (7.16 +/- 0.58) x 10(-4) to (4.86 +/- 0.62) x 10(-4) mm2/s in the CP. On average, CBF recovered to approximately 50% of baseline in the first 24 hours of reperfusion. After 2 to 4 days, a strong hyperperfusion in the ipsilateral cortex and CP, up to approximately 300 mL x 100 g(-1) x min(-1), was observed. The ADC ratio in the ipsilateral and contralateral CP was also inverted in the late reperfusion period. Histology revealed more severe tissue damage at the late stage of reperfusion than at 4.5 hours. Significant reversal of CBF and ADC during the late reperfusion period may reflect the impairment of autoregulation in the ischemic regions. Vascular factors may play an important role in the infarct development after 80-minute focal ischemia.     

利用激光散斑成像技术观察尤瑞克林对脑梗死大鼠脑血流的影响

目的 利用激光散斑成像技术研究尤瑞克林对大鼠脑梗死后局部脑血流的影响.方法 成年雄性SD大鼠24只,线栓法制备大鼠永久性大脑中动脉梗死模型.激光散斑成像系统观测缺血半球皮质及大脑中动脉供血区血流,2,3,5-三苯基氯化四氮唑(TTC)染色法测定脑梗死体积,并进行神经功能评分.结果 皮质及大脑中动脉供血区血流在大剂量组第1天及第2天给药后均有明显改善,部分大脑皮质血管增粗,血流速度加快,小剂量组及生理盐水组无明显变化,脑缺血48 h后,大、小剂量尤瑞克林组及生理盐水组的梗死体积分别为10.14%±3.02%,25.99%±3.90%,27.10%±3.32%,大剂量组与生理盐水组比较差异有统计学意义(F=61.14,P<0.01),小剂量组与生理盐水组比较差异无统计学意义.缺血后4 h,大剂量组神经功能损伤明显改善,小剂量组及生理盐水组无明显改变,36 h各组间的神经功能评分差异无统计学意义.结论 尤瑞克林可以减少大鼠局灶性脑缺血后梗死体积,延缓神经功能损伤,其作用可能与促进侧支循环的开放,增加大脑皮质和缺血区血流有关.     

实验性局灶性脑缺血不同脑区VEGF、VEGFR-1、2表达及意义

目的 通过探索血管内皮生长因子及其受体在局灶性脑缺血中的表达，进而探求血管内皮生长因子在局灶性脑缺血中的作用。方法 应用左侧颈总动脉结扎加缺氧诱导的方法，建立SD大鼠永久大脑中动脉闭塞模型，应用免疫组化方法检测血管内皮生长因子及其受体(VEGF、VEGFR-1、2)的表达，同时观察局灶性脑缺血后血管型成情况。结果 VEGF及VEGFR-1、2在局灶性脑缺血后6h表达增强，24h达高峰，在1周、2周恢复到对照水平。VEGF主要在缺血半影区(IP)神经元、胶质细胞及血管内皮细胞表达；VEGFR-1、2主要在缺血半影区血管内皮细胞表达。在缺血后48h半影区周边出现血管增生，1周后达高峰。结论 在局灶性脑缺血早期VEGF及VEGFR-1、2在神经细胞、胶质细胞、血管内皮细胞等均有表达，可促进缺血半影区的血管增生，对改善缺血半影区血供有重要作用。     

Effects of lesions in ventral anterior thalamus on experimental focal epilepsy

The effect of stereotaxic lesions of the ventral anterior thalamus, or the adjacent inferior thalamic peduncle, on experimental models of focal cortical epilepsy was studied. Acute epileptic foci in cat sensorimotor cortex were made by injection of tungstic acid gel. Following ipsilateral lesions of ventral anterior thalamus or the adjacent inferior thalamic peduncle in these animals there was a highly significant reduction in electrographic seizure frequency and duration compared to prelesion control periods. Interictal activity at the focus was not altered. The frequency and duration of spontaneous clinical seizures in five rhesus monkeys with chronic alumina cream foci in motor strip was continuously monitored in activity chairs. Both seizure frequency and duration decreased in all animals in the 4-week period after ipsilateral ventral anterior thalamic lesions as compared to the 4-week control period. Sham lesions did not have these effects. The thalamic lesions did not discernably alter behavior or neurologic function in these primates. Thus ventral anterior thalamic lesions decrease seizure frequency and duration in both acute and chronic experimental models of focal cortical epilepsy. These findings indicate that pathways originating in or passing through the ventral anterior thalamus play a role in the generalization of focal cortical seizures. These lesions in ventral anterior thalamus may be useful in the treatment of medically intractable seizures secondary to foci inaccessible to direct excision.     

Effect of brovincamine on cerebral circulation and metabolism in internal carotid artery occlusion examined by positron emission tomography.

We evaluated the effect of brovincamine on the circulatory and metabolic state in the brain ischemia with internal carotid artery occlusion accompanying the 'misery perfusion syndrome'. Cerebral blood flow (CBF), cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO2) and oxygen extraction fraction (OEF) were measured by PET before and after intravenous loading of brovincamine. Brovincamine increased CBF and decreased OEF significantly on the occluded side of the hemisphere. CMRO2 did not show any remarkable changes upon brovincamine administration. It was concluded that brovincamine might be useful for increasing the hemodynamic reserve, but did not affect the metabolic state immediately after its administration.     

Longitudinal thalamic diffusion changes after middle cerebral artery infarcts

BACKGROUND: Cerebral infarcts are responsible for functional alterations and microscopic tissue damage at distance from the ischaemic area. Such remote effects have been involved in stroke recovery. Thalamic hypometabolism is related to motor recovery in middle cerebral artery (MCA) infarcts but little is known concerning the tissue changes underlying these metabolic changes. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is highly sensitive to microstructural tissue alterations and can be used to quantify in vivo the longitudinal microscopic tissue changes occurring in the thalamus after MCA infarcts in humans. METHODS: Nine patients underwent DTI after an isolated MCA infarct. Mean diffusivity (MD), fractional anisotropy (FA), and thalamic region volume were measured from the first week to the sixth month after stroke onset in these patients and in 10 age matched controls. RESULTS: MD significantly increased in the ipsilateral thalamus between the first and the sixth month (0.766 x 10(-3) mm(2)/s first month; 0.792 x 10(-3) mm(2)/s third month; 0.806 x 10(-3) mm(2)/s sixth month). No significant modification of FA was detected. In six patients, the ipsilateral/contralateral index of MD was higher than the upper limit of the 95% CI calculated in 10 age matched controls. An early decrease of MD preceded the increase of ipsilateral thalamic diffusion in one patient at the first week and in two other patients at the first month. CONCLUSION: After MCA infarcts, an increase in diffusion is observed with DTI in the ipsilateral thalamus later than 1 month after the stroke onset. This is presumably because of the progressive loss of neurons and/or glial cells. In some patients, this increase is preceded by a transient decrease in diffusion possibly related to an early swelling of these cells or to microglial activation. Further studies in larger series are needed to assess the clinical correlates of these findings.     

Cortical infarct volume is dependent on the ischemic reduction of perifocal cerebral blood flow in a three-vessel intraluminal MCA occlusion/reperfusion model in the rat

Occlusion of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) causes a reduction of cerebral blood flow (CBF), which shows a progressive decrease from the periphery to the core of the MCA territory. The severity of ischemia is dependent on the duration of the ischemic episode and degree of CBF reduction. Fixing the ischemic episode to 1 h, we have examined whether or not cortical infarct size was related to the degree of CBF reduction in a perifocal cortical area in rats. One-hour intraluminal MCA occlusion accompanied with bilateral common carotid artery (CCA) occlusion (three-vessel occlusion/reperfusion model) was carried out in Sprague-Dawley rats and CBF was monitored with laser-Doppler flowmetry in the fronto-parietal cortex, an area which is perifocal to the core of the MCA territory. Finally, infarct size was measured 7 days later and was related to the corresponding CBF decrease. Sequential ipsilateral CCA, MCA and contralateral CCA occlusions produced reductions of CBF to 96%, 52% and 33% of baseline, respectively. Cortical infarct volume was found to be dependent on the corresponding reduction of perifocal cortical CBF during the ischemic episode. These results show that the reduction of CBF in the periphery of the MCA territory during 1-h focal ischemia determines infarct size in a three-vessel occlusion/reperfusion model.     

Neuronal network disturbance after focal ischemia in rats

We studied functional disturbances following left middle cerebral artery occlusion in rats. Neuronal function was evaluated by [14C]2-deoxyglucose autoradiography 1 day after occlusion. We analyzed the mechanisms of change in glucose utilization outside the infarct using Fink-Heimer silver impregnation, axonal transport of wheat germ agglutinin-conjugated-horseradish peroxidase, and succinate dehydrogenase histochemistry. One day after occlusion, glucose utilization was remarkably reduced in the areas surrounding the infarct. There were many silver grains indicating degeneration of the synaptic terminals in the cortical areas surrounding the infarct and the ipsilateral cingulate cortex. Moreover, in the left thalamus where the left middle cerebral artery supplied no blood, glucose utilization significantly decreased compared with sham-operated rats. In the left thalamus, massive silver staining of degenerated synaptic terminals and decreases in succinate dehydrogenase activity were observed 4 and 5 days after occlusion. The absence of succinate dehydrogenase staining may reflect early changes in retrograde degeneration of thalamic neurons after ischemic injury of the thalamocortical pathway. Terminal degeneration even affected areas remote from the infarct: there were silver grains in the contralateral hemisphere transcallosally connected to the infarct and in the ipsilateral substantia nigra. Axonal transport study showed disruption of the corticospinal tract by subcortical ischemia; the transcallosal pathways in the cortex surrounding the infarct were preserved. The relation between neural function and the neuronal network in the area surrounding the focal cerebral infarct is discussed with regard to ischemic penumbra and diaschisis.