Advantages and disadvantages of rodent ischaemic stroke models
| Stroke models | Advantages | Disadvantages | Refs |
| Permanent/transient MCAO | Closest to human permanent or transient ischaemic brain injury, widely accepted and used, stable and repeatable | Fail to simulate ischaemic pathogenesis in patients with comorbidities | 7–10 |
| Thrombotic MCAO | Suitable for studies in thrombotic stroke, for example, thrombolytic drugs | Difficult to control the site of embolism | 11–17 |
| Proximal/distal MCAO | Stabled lesion size | Difficult to operate, craniotomy needed | 18 |
| ET-1 vasoconstriction | Relatively controllable lesion size, easy to operate | Slower restoration rate compared with MCAO by intraluminal suture | 19 20 |
| Photothrombosis | Induce infarcts in any cortical region, non-invasive | Small infarct volume | 21–23 |
| Bilateral common carotid artery ligation or coils | Suitable for studies of white matter injury induced by chronic ischaemia | / | 24 |
ET-1, Endothelin-1; MCAO, middle cerebral artery occlusion.