Cerebral hypoxia–ischemia: Focus on the use of magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy in research on animals

Cerebral hypoxic–ischemic injury represents a serious health problem and is the third leading cause of mortality in developed countries. Early diagnosis of hypoxic–ischemic injury to the brain is inevitable for timely and efficient treatment. However, routinely applied cranial ultrasonography or computed tomography is often not sensitive enough to detect cerebral hypoxic–ischemic injury in its early stages. Therefore searching for a more effective diagnostic tool has been an intensive process in many laboratories within the last decades. Nowadays, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and spectroscopy (MRS) are the most promising non-invasive and non-destructive tools working in-real-time. These magnetic resonance-based techniques are progressively utilized in neurological and neonatology departments to confirm or refute cerebral hypoxic–ischemic injury in adults and neonates. The purpose of the present paper was therefore (i) to provide a brief overview on mechanisms of hypoxic–ischemic injury to the brain and (ii) to summarize main findings of both clinical reports and experimental studies, performed on various animal models of brain hypoxia–ischemia, with a particular focus on the monitoring of the evolving cerebral hypoxic–ischemic injury by means of in vivo MRI and MRS.