Dear Editor,

Apoptosis and necrosis have been identified as two morphologically distinct types of cell death.1,2,3 However, under some conditions, the same cell may display both apoptotic and necrotic features.3,4 Although several markers of both pathways are available to study the complex nature of cell death in vitro, the markers that can be used in vivo (especially in the brain) are limited.5 Since loss of membrane integrity is a pathognomonic feature of necrotic cell death, adapting techniques using membrane-impermeant dyes such as propidium iodide (PI) to in vivo conditions may help investigating mechanisms of cell death in vivo.

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