Stroke is a cerebrovascular disorder characterized by clinical signs of rapid development of focal or global disorders of cerebral function. It is one of the leading causes of disability and mortality in the world with very limited therapeutic possibilities. More than 80% of strokes are of ischemic origin, caused mostly by middle cerebral artery occlusion (middle cerebral artery occlusion, MCAO). The purpose of this thesis was to investigate the effect of recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEpo) on the expression and activity of SIRT 1 protein (silent information regulator two protein 1), the expression of iNOS and GFAP and the activation of microglia in the cortex and / or hippocampus of rats exposed to MCAO procedure. Hannover Wistar male rats were exposed to focal cerebral ischemia using the MCAO method for 1 h. Ischemic animals were administered either a solvent or rhEpo (5000 IU / kg, i.p.), 3 h after induction of ischemia. Falsely operated animals were used as a control group. Animals were sacrificed 24 h after induction of ischemia. The obtained results show that the administration of rhEpo caused a statistically significant increase in the expression of SIRT1 protein in the cortex of ischemic animals compared to the control groups. No significant changes in the level of iNOS and GFAP expression in the examined brain regions were observed. In the hippocampus of ischemic animals, a decrease in the number of activated microglial cells was observed due to the use of rhEpo, but the obtained data are not statistically significant.