Local Cerebral Blood Flow (LCBF) measurement

Laser scanning imaging was used to measure LCBF as previously described [34]. LCBF was measured at different time points: immediately before MCA ligation, right after MCA/CCA occlusion, after the 7 min bilateral CCA ligation, and 14 days after ischemia. Animals were anesthetized with an injection of 3% isoflurane and an incision was made to expose the skull above the territory of the right MCA. The laser was placed over the center of right coronal suture. Different from the conventional Laser Doppler probe that measures a small point of blood flow, the scanner method measures a 2.4×2.4 mm square area using the Laser Doppler perfusion imaging system (PeriFlux System 5000-PF5010 LDPM unit, Perimed, Stockholm, Sweden). This scanning measurement largely avoids inaccurate or bias results caused by inconsistent location of the laser probe. Data was analyzed using the LDPI Win 2 software (Perimed AB).