Focal cerebral ischemia was induced by occlusion of the right middle cerebral artery in hypoglycemic, normoglycemic, as well as in acute and chronic diabetic rats. The brain damage was studied after 4 days. The volume of infarction was decreased in hypoglycemia (29±19 mm³ (mean±SD) versus 58±35 mm³,P<0.0046), unaltered in acute diabetes (61±45 mm³), and increased in chronic diabetes (91±22 mm³,P<0.0463). The cortex adjacent to the infarct showed selective neuronal injury affecting the cortical layers 2 and 3. The damage was enhanced by hypoglycemia and prevented in most of the diabetic animals. The findings indicate that different mechanisms cause infarction and selective neuronal injury outside infarcts, but that both are influenced by the plasma glucose concentration.