The endogenous responses of the mouse brain to an ET-1 mediated small focal ischemic injury

Abstract

Stroke is a debilitating disease that currently affects 50000 people in Canada yearly. Understanding the responses of the brain to a small clinically relevant model of ischemic stroke can lead to new and improved therapies to help improve stroke recovery. This thesis has characterized the endogenous responses to an Endothelin-1 (ET-1) mediated small focal ischemic injury over the first 10 days post-stroke. Major findings include the discovery and characterization of the spread of astrocyte activation across the cortex including activation in the contralateral cortex. Studies into the proliferative response of neural precursor cells showed a significant increase in the newborn neuroblast population.These results can lead to a greater understanding of the role of glial cells poststroke and to the identification of an optimal time window in which to promote NPC survival post-stroke and improve stroke recovery.