IMR Press / FBL / Volume 13 / Issue 5 / DOI: 10.2741/2803

Frontiers in Bioscience-Landmark (FBL) is published by IMR Press from Volume 26 Issue 5 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.

Article
Posterior circulation stroke and animal models
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1 Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Loma Linda, California, USA
2 Department of Neurosurgery, Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Loma Linda, California, USA
3 Department of Anesthesiology, Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Loma Linda, California, USA
4 Department of Pathology and Human Anatomy, Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Loma Linda, California, USA

*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

 

Front. Biosci. (Landmark Ed) 2008, 13(5), 1827–1844; https://doi.org/10.2741/2803
Published: 1 January 2008
Abstract

The posterior circulation is part of the brain circulation that is subject to stroke. Strokes which involve the posterior circulation account for approximately 25% of all ischemic strokes, and about 10-20% of all hemorrhagic strokes. While the mortality rate from ischemic strokes in posterior circulation could be as low as 4%, the cerebellar and pontine hemorrhages carry a mortality rate close to 20% and 60%, respectively mainly due to brainstem compression secondary to edema or from direct parenchymal damage to vital cardio-respiratory centers. There are very few therapies geared towards neuroprotection or for reduction of edema in the posterior circulation. In fact, most treatments for anterior circulation stroke are commonly used for the posterior circulation, without an adequate study of the benefits and drawbacks. Since multiple neurovascular differences exist between these two circulations, this would imply that additional studies are needed to refine the clinical treatments in the posterior region. This review summarizes the existing animal models for posterior circulation stroke or vascular insufficiency, and discusses the anatomical, histological, neuronal, neurobehavioral and neurovascular differences at the hindbrain in comparison to the forebrain.

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