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To investigate the effect of aging on the oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) after cerebral ischemia, neuron-glia antigen 2 (NG2) chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan was examined at 1, 3 and 7 days after 90 min of transient middle cerebral artery occlusion in young and aged brains. The number of NG2 positive cells increased in the ischemic penumbra at 3 and 7 days after reperfusion, while those decreased in the ischemic core. At 7 days, the number of NG2 positive cells was significantly greater in the young than the aged brains, and the processes of NG2 positive cells enlarged and were highly branched in the young than the aged brains. These results suggest that the young brain showed a higher potential of proliferation and process branching of OPCs than the aged brains. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]