Opportunities and Limitations of Vascular Risk Factor Models in Studying Plasticity-Promoting and Restorative Ischemic Stroke Therapies

Major efforts are currently made promoting neuronal plasticity and brain remodeling in the postacute stroke phase. Experimental studies evaluating new stroke therapies are mostly performed in rodents, which compared to humans exhibit a short lifespan. These studies widely employ young, otherwise healthy, rodents that lack the vascular risk factors and comorbidities of stroke patients. These risk factors compromise postischemic neurological...