[Animal models of cerebral ischemia--testing therapeutic strategies in vivo]

Acute cerebral ischemia is one of the leading causes of mortality and chronic disability worldwide. Animal models of focal (stroke-type) and global (cardiac arrest-type) ischemia have been established to investigate the morphological, functional and molecular consequences and to design therapeutic strategies for the improvement of ischemic injury. Despite highly beneficial effects in experimental studies, most human clinical trials were disappointing, suggesting inefficacies in the design and/or translation of animal experiments. In this review the pathophysiologically relevant specifics of ischemia models will be discussed to provide a rational basis for the proper selection of animal models for testing therapeutic strategies under experimental conditions.