A revised mathematical model of cerebral microischemia

Cerebral microinfarcts (lacunes) are considered to cause dementia. Experimental studies of this kind of infarct may bring us closer to an understanding of, and thus, a treatment for, cerebral infarction. However, the study of experimental cerebral microischemia is complex because of the high resolution needed. Comparing experimental with theoretical results should improve our knowledge of the subject. In the present work, a theoretical model of cerebral microischemia was improved and some results are presented. This study confirms that the glucose supply in some cases limits the energy turnover. Furthermore, the results show that increasing the oxygen supply (increasing Khem, and increasing the partial pressure of oxygen in blood) should at maximum only improve the energy turnover by about 5%. The present model may be an aid in the interpretation of experimental results and may be used to predict benefits of various treatments.