Repair and Recovery Mechanism in Chronic Stroke

Studies to understand repair/recovery mechanisms that promote functional recovery have emerged. Genetics are among several factors that influence stroke recovery. We have studied the role of the BDNF single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) on stroke recovery, which is common in humans and was expected to be detrimental to stroke outcome and recovery. To address the impact of the BDNF SNP on stroke recovery, we have used mice that contain the human BDNF SNP variant. Contrary to expectations, our studies have shown that BDNF SNP mice have a better recovery from stroke through structural and molecular plasticity in the contralateral hemisphere. Two important contributions from our investigation into the genetics of stroke recovery studies are: one, we have developed a long-term stroke recovery model with 6-month post-stroke longitudinal behavior measurement; two, novel insight into the role that the BDNF SNP variant has for stroke recovery.