ISNVD Abstract Book

SUNDAY – FEBRUARY 19, 2012 1:20pm-2:00pm
Remodeling the Brain after Stroke and Neural Injury (Michael Chopp, USA)
Historically, the focus of the treatment of stroke and neurological injury and disease has been neuroprotection,
i.e., reduction of damage to brain. However, a more fruitful approach which may permit the efficacious
treatment of all patients is to treat, not the injured tissue, but the intact brain, in order to stimulate and amplify
endogenous restorative mechanisms which promote neurological recovery. In this presentation, I will describe
our work on cell-based and pharmacological-based therapies for the treatment of stroke and demonstrate that
a major neurorestorative pathway is via the vascular system. Effective treatment of neurological diseases
stimulates vascular changes which in-turn amplify and couple with other restorative events, such as
neurogenesis, to promote neurological recovery post stroke.
No financial disclosures to report.