Sustained administration of corticosterone at stress-like levels after stroke suppressed glial reactivity at sites of thalamic secondary neurodegeneration.

Sustained administration of corticosterone at stress-like levels after stroke suppressed glial reactivity at sites of thalamic secondary neurodegeneration. Brain Behav Immun. 2017 Nov 18;: Authors: Zalewska K, Pietrogrande G, Ong LK, Abdolhoseini M, Kluge M, Johnson SJ, Walker FR, Nilsson M Abstract Secondary neurodegeneration (SND) is an insidious and progressive condition involving the death of neurons in regions of the brain that were connected to but undamaged by the initial stroke. Our group have published compelling evidence that exposure to psychological stress can significantly exacerbate the severity SND, a finding that has considerable clinical implications given that stroke-survivors often report experiencing high and unremitting levels of psychological stress. It may be possible to use one or more targeted pharmacological approaches to limit the negative effects of stress on the recovery process but in order to move forward with this approach the most critical stress signals have to be identified. Accordingly, in the current study we have directed our attention to examining the potential effects of corticosterone, delivered orally at stress-like levels. Our interest is to determine how similar the effects of corticosterone are to stress on repair and remodelling that is known to occur after stroke. The study involved 4 groups, sham and stroke, either administered corticosterone or normal drinking water. The functional imp...
Source: Brain, Behavior, and Immunity - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Brain Behav Immun Source Type: research