Functional recovery in aging mice after experimental stroke

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Gerontology
• Translational Medicine

Background:

• Stroke is a leading cause of disability, with aging being a primary risk factor.
• Effective post-stroke functional recovery strategies are crucial, yet pre-clinical models often lack age-specific validation.
• Mice are increasingly used in stroke research, necessitating validated behavioral tests for this species.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a battery of behavioral tests for assessing functional recovery in an aging murine stroke model.
• To compare recovery patterns and infarct size between young and aging male mice post-stroke.
• To investigate age-related differences in brain response, including gliosis and immune response.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a murine stroke model in both young and aging male mice.
• Administered a battery of behavioral tests including vertical pole, hanging wire, open field, and corner test.
• Assessed chronic infarct size via ipsilateral cerebral atrophy and examined reactive gliosis and immune response.

Main Results:

• Vertical pole, hanging wire, and open field tests accurately assessed acute impairments but showed rapid recovery.
• The corner test reliably differentiated stroke from sham animals up to 30 days post-stroke in aging mice.
• Aging mice exhibited worse initial impairment but achieved similar functional recovery to young mice; however, they had smaller infarcts and showed increased gliosis and immune response.

Conclusions:

• The corner test is a reliable measure for stroke recovery assessment in aging mice.
• Age-related differences in brain response, such as gliosis, may influence the timing of behavioral recovery after stroke.
• Findings highlight the need for age-specific behavioral test validation in pre-clinical stroke research.