Vascular and parenchymal lesions along with enhanced neurogenesis characterize the brain of asymptomatic stroke-prone spontaneous hypertensive rats.

Background And Objectives: Spontaneously hypertensive stroke-prone rats (SHRSPs) develop hypertension, cerebrovascular abnormalities and a stroke phenotype in association with higher levels of proteinuria. Here, we focus on cerebral abnormalities preceding lesions detectable by MRI.

Methods: Longitudinal assessment of brain histology was performed in salt-loaded male SHRSPs (n = 26) and Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) normotensive control animals (n = 27).