Current Neurovascular Research - Volume 11, Issue 3, 2014

One of the novel observations reported by Paul Ehrlich who later was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine was the separate compartments that were present between the organs of the body and the brain. Ehrlich was able to show that aniline dye injected into the arterial system was able to color multiple organs, such as the heart and kidneys, but did not affect the brain. When such an experiment was performed in a reverse Read More

We investigated the effects of cerebral arterial microemboli on amyloid β protein (Aβ) deposition in the hippocampal region of amyloid precursor protein/presenilin 1 (APP/PS1) double transgenic mice and evaluated the role of cerebral arterial microemboli in Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathogenesis. The mice were divided into a wild-type sham surgery group (n = 15), a wild-type coupled with microemboli group (n =15), Read More

Fifteen Alzheimer (AD) and fifteen normative (NM) age-matched autopsy brains were analyzed in superior temporal cortex, hippocampal and brainstem samples. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) positive capillaries were quantitatively analyzed in all three sites in the 30 cases. Amyloid β42 senile plaques and VEGF positive capillaries were counted and statistically analyzed using Mann-Whitney, Kruskal–Wallis and Read More

Pneumococcal meningitis is associated with neurologic sequelae, such as learning and memory impairment. Most recently, a nonbacteriolytic antibiotic has been investigated to minimise the inflammatory host response and prevent cognitive damage. In this study, we compared daptomycin (DPTO) or ceftriaxone (CFX) treatment on the inflammatory parameters and on the blood-brain barrier (BBB) integrity in ex Read More

Microglial activation plays a vital role in the pathogenesis of white matter lesions (WMLs) during chronic cerebral hypo perfusion. Autophagy has been associated with both microglia survival and cell death. Yet, the role of autophagy during microglial activation in chronic cerebral ischemia is still unknown. We used a chronic cerebral hypoperfusion model by permanent stenosis of bilateral common carotid artery in mice to stu Read More

Influence of undifferentiated bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) combined with vein graft on transected sciatic nerve repair was studied in diabetic rats. A nerve segment, 10 mm, was excised and a vein graft (VG) was used to bridge the gap. 10 microliter undifferentiated BMSCs (2x107 cells /mL) were administered into the graft in treatment group (VG/BMSC). Phosphate buffered saline was only administered into the graft in Read More

Elevated urinary albumin to creatinine ratio (ACR) and white matter hyperintensity (WMH) volume seen on brain MRI are measures of microvascular disease which may have shared susceptibility to metabolic and vascular insults. We hypothesized that elevated ACR may be useful as inexpensive biomarker to predict presence of cerebral microvascular disease. We assessed the association between ACR at study entry Read More

Iron overload may contribute to brain damage that involves delayed brain atrophy, edema, and neuronal cell death as well as unfavorable outcome following ischemic stroke and intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). This prospective study was performed to determine the association of serum ferritin level, an iron storage protein, with perihematoma edema (PHE) growth as well as in-hospital mortality and long-term clinical outcome of Read More

Tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) thrombolysis, remains to be the only United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved treatment for acute ischemia stroke. However, the use of tPA has been profoundly constrained due to its narrow therapeutic time window and the increased risk of potentially deadly hemorrhagic complications. TPA-associated hemorrhagic transformation (HT) often occurs as a result of catastroph Read More

Neuroinflammation is presented in the acute phase brain damage as well as chronic diseases. Cells that are directly or indirectly involved in immune responses compose the central nervous system (CNS). Microglia are resident cells of the CNS and, as peripheral macrophages, are activated in presence of some cellular insult, producing a large number of cytokines and chemokines in order to remove toxins from the Read More

Glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK-3β) is implicated in diverse cellular processes such as cell signaling and survival. Accumulating lines of evidence indicate that increased GSK-3β activity contributes to neuronal death and pathogenesis of ischemic stroke. Considering predominant roles of GSK-3β in neuronal apoptosis, modulation of this protein kinase is a reliable strategy for ischemic neuroprotection. In this review, we survey Read More

Post-stroke depression is an important psychological consequence of ischemic stroke, and affects around one third of stroke patients at any time post-stroke. It has a negative impact on patient morbidity and mortality, and as such development of effective post-stroke recognition and treatment strategies are very important. There are several therapeutic strategies for post-stroke depression, including both pharmacolo Read More