A rat model of diabetes mellitus was induced by a high fat diet, followed by focal brain ischemia induced using the thread method after 0.5 month. Immunohistochemistry showed that expression ofrnreceptor for advanced glycation end-products was higher in the ischemic cortex of diabetic rats compared with non-diabetic rats with brain ischemia. West blot assay revealed increasedrnphosphorylated c-Jun N-terminal kinase expression, and unchanged phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase protein expression in the ischemic cortex of diabetic rats compared with non-diabetic rats with brain ischemia. Additionally, phosphorylated p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase protein was not detected in any rats in the two groups. Severity of limb hemiplegia was worse in diabetic rats with brain ischemia compared with ischemia alone rats. The resultsrnsuggest that increased expression of receptor for advanced glycation end-products can further activate the c-Jun N-terminal kinase pathway in mitogen-activated protein kinase, therebyrnworsening brain injury associated with focal brain ischemia in diabetic rats.