Longitudinal Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Aged Rats with Sildenafil Treatment After Embolic Stroke

Guangliang Ding¹, Quan Jiang¹, Lian Li¹, Li Zhang¹, Zhenggang Zhang¹, Qingjiang Li¹, James R. Ewing¹, Michael Chopp^1,2

This study demonstrated that treatment of embolic stroke with sildenafil in aged rats starting at 24 hours and continuing daily for 7 days significantly augmented angiogenesis and axonal remodeling, accompanied with increased of local blood flow and reduced expansion of the ipsilateral ventricle, up to 6 weeks after stroke, compared to control aged rats. Neurological outcome was significantly improved in sildenafil treated aged rats. However, recovery from ischemic stroke may be age associated. Aged rats subjected to stroke had a higher mortality rate and worse neurological deficits than young rats.