Stroke is an important public health issue because it has high morbidity and mortality rates. In addition, it has one of the highest rates of disability in adults. Recent data show that macrophage system cells, especially microglial cells, are involved both in neuroprotective processes and in the neurotoxicity, depending on the type and extent of the brain damage.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStroke is the third leading cause of death and the first cause of disability with an increasing incidence, especially of the ischemic type. There is no effective curative treatment for stroke and therefore the therapy for this disease currently relies on identifying patients at risk and instituting preventive measures. Since ischemic stroke in middle cerebral artery territory (and with preferential localization in the striated nuclei) is the main type of stroke in humans, animal models obtained by surgical ligation of the middle cerebral artery (MCAO) are valuable tools for the fundamental study of this disease.
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