Strategies to Repair the Brain after a Stroke

Dear Colleagues,

The treatment of stroke has been crippled for many years by the complexity of the brain’s response and promising but failed therapies. Tissue plasminogen activator is considered to be the only gold standard for the approved treatment of stroke, and when promptly administered, it can reduce the long-term morbidity and prevent long-term disability. An urgent need therefore exists for new therapies for the majority of patients beyond the current narrow treatment window. New advances in imaging and rehabilitation have shown, in both animal models and in humans, that the brain can compensate for function lost as a result of stroke through spontaneous reorganization of intact circuits and through novel treatment-induced mechanisms. The best understanding of functional recovery comes from studies of the primary motor cortex, where force generation and accuracy of movement can be measured reliably over time after focal damage.

The main aim of this Special Issue is to underline the recent progress in the field of brain repair after stroke to gain a solid understanding of emerging therapies. Developments in basic neuroscience have produced various potential therapies for brain repair after a stroke such as stem-cell, glial and primary neuronal transplantation, use-dependent plasticity, trophic factors, strategies for axon regeneration, robotics, stimulation, constrained-induced physical therapy, and cognitive approaches.

For this Special Issue, we particularly welcome high-quality research articles (original research papers and reviews) from human and animal models of stroke recovery so as to provide a comprehensive update of this emerging science in order to bridge the gap between basic life science research findings and the clinical perspective.

Prof. Dr. Mario Valentino
Dr. Christian Zammit
Guest Editors

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• neurons
• glia
• white matter
• axon regeneration
• reconstructive techniques
• physical therapy
• speech therapy
• language therapy
• plasticity
• remyelination
• neurotrophic factors
• stem cells
• brain stimulation
• neuroprotection
• imaging