Difference in Stroke Knowledge between Rural and Urban Communities in a Developing Country after Community-Based Stroke Educational Campaigns: Results from a Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Ischemic stroke is a leading cause of disability and death in Mexico. Poor ability to identify signs and symptoms of ischemic stroke leads to longer hospital arrival times and precludes prompt treatment. The knowledge of stroke risk factors and warning signs in rural population is scarce.

TAM receptors regulate multiple features of microglial physiology.

Microglia are damage sensors for the central nervous system (CNS), and the phagocytes responsible for routine non-inflammatory clearance of dead brain cells. Here we show that the TAM receptor tyrosine kinases Mer and Axl regulate these microglial functions. We find that adult mice deficient in microglial Mer and Axl exhibit a marked accumulation of apoptotic cells specifically in neurogenic regions of the CNS, and that microglial phagocytosis of the apoptotic cells generated during adult neurogenesis is normally driven by both TAM receptor ligands Gas6 and protein S.