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Recent Advances in Brain Vascular Diseases Management and Therapy

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Pathology, Diagnostics, and Therapeutics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2019) | Viewed by 6830

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Brain plasticity allows continuous remodeling of brain structure and function during aging and disease. Aging is accompanied by changes in blood vessels structure leading to a decrease in blood flow to the peripheral organs. In the central nervous system, cerebral vascular aging can lead to loss of the integrity of the blood-brain barrier, eventually resulting in cognitive and sensorimotor decline. One of the major of types of cognitive dysfunction due to chronic cerebral hypoperfusion, is vascular cognitive impairment and and degenerative processes leading to dementia. Thus, some patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease presents with symptoms manifested by cortical and/or subcortical clinical symptoms that are related to atheromatous vascular degeneration of the brain arteries.

Thus, comprehensive approaches need to be developed that address the multiple, interrelated mechanisms of brain aging. Attention is brought to the importance of maintenance of cerebromicrovascular health, restoring neuroendocrine balance, and the pressing need for funding more innovative research into the interactions of neuronal, neuroendocrine, inflammatory and microvascular mechanisms of cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Old age is associated with an enhanced susceptibility to stroke and aged animals, recover poorly from brain injuries as compared to young rodents. Stroke increases the risk of cognitive impairment and dementia and may contribute to the progression of Alzheimer's disease. Despite the initial hope that cell-based therapies may stimulate restorative processes in the ischemic brain, it is now recognized that aging processes may promote an unfavorable environment for such treatments.

During the past several years, there has been increasing interest in the role of human cerebrovasculature and the blood–brain barrier (BBB) as etiological factors contributing to development of seizures and chronic epilepsy. Recently, much emphasis has been placed on dysregulated angiogenesis, BBB permeability and epilepsy.

This Special Issue of IJMS will provide an up-to-date information on molecular, cellular and pathophysiological events associated with different aspects of brain aging, from latest developments in the field of neurodegenerative disorders to cerebral microvascular mechanisms of cognitive decline. New avenues for research targeting cellular senescence, epigenetics, and endocrine mechanisms of brain aging are also discussed. Based on the current literature it is clear that understanding brain aging and reducing risk for neurological disease with age requires searching for mechanisms and treatment options beyond the age-related changes in neuronal function. We also cover brain vasculature recent advances in signaling pathways that can potentially protect cells as well as treatment options for the maintenance of cerebromicrovascular to prevent diseases associated with brain vasculature remodelling in response to aging and associated diseases and open new avenues for treatment options.

Prof. Aurel Popa-Wagner
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • Aging
  • Vasculature
  • cognition
  • dementia
  • stroke
  • hemorrhagic stroke
  • comorbidities
  • epilepsy
  • dementia
  • Alzheimer’s disease

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 3170 KiB  
Article
Quantification of 3D Brain Microangioarchitectures in an Animal Model of Krabbe Disease
by Marco Righi, Mirella Belleri, Marco Presta and Arianna Giacomini
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(10), 2384; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20102384 - 14 May 2019
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2226
Abstract
We performed a three-dimensional (3D) analysis of the microvascular network of the cerebral cortex of twitcher mice (an authentic model of Krabbe disease) using a restricted set of indexes that are able to describe the arrangement of the microvascular tree in CD31-stained sections. [...] Read more.
We performed a three-dimensional (3D) analysis of the microvascular network of the cerebral cortex of twitcher mice (an authentic model of Krabbe disease) using a restricted set of indexes that are able to describe the arrangement of the microvascular tree in CD31-stained sections. We obtained a near-linear graphical “fingerprint” of the microangioarchitecture of wild-type and twitcher animals that describes the amounts, spatial dispersion, and spatial relationships of adjacent classes of caliber-filtered microvessels. We observed significant alterations of the microangioarchitecture of the cerebral cortex of twitcher mice, whereas no alterations occur in renal microvessels, which is keeping with the observation that kidney is an organ that is not affected by the disease. This approach may represent an important starting point for the study of the microvascular changes that occur in the central nervous system (CNS) under different physiopathological conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Brain Vascular Diseases Management and Therapy)
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Review

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12 pages, 274 KiB  
Review
Recent Advances in Mono- and Combined Stem Cell Therapies of Stroke in Animal Models and Humans
by Roxana Surugiu, Andrei Olaru, Dirk M. Hermann, Daniela Glavan, Bogdan Catalin and Aurel Popa-Wagner
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(23), 6029; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20236029 - 29 Nov 2019
Cited by 26 | Viewed by 4240
Abstract
Following the failure of acute neuroprotection therapies, major efforts are currently made worldwide to promote neurological recovery and brain plasticity in the subacute and post-acute phases of stroke. Currently, there is hope that stroke recovery might be promoted by cell-based therapies. The field [...] Read more.
Following the failure of acute neuroprotection therapies, major efforts are currently made worldwide to promote neurological recovery and brain plasticity in the subacute and post-acute phases of stroke. Currently, there is hope that stroke recovery might be promoted by cell-based therapies. The field of stem cell therapy for cerebral ischemia has made significant progress in the last five years. A variety of stem cells have been tested in animal models and humans including adipose stem cells, human umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells, human amnion epithelial cells, human placenta amniotic membrane-derived mesenchymal stem cells, adult human pluripotent-like olfactory stem cells, human bone marrow endothelial progenitor cells, electrically-stimulated human neuronal progenitor cells, or induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) of human origin. Combination therapies in animal models include a mix of two or more therapeutic factors consisting of bone marrow stromal cells, exercise and thyroid hormones, endothelial progenitor cells overexpressing the chemokine CXCL12. Mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of transplanted cells include the “bystander” effects, paracrine mechanisms, or extracellular vesicles-mediated restorative effects. Mitochondria transfer also appears to be a powerful strategy for regenerative processes. Studies in humans are currently limited to a small number of studies using autologous stem cells mainly aimed to assess tolerability and side-effects of human stem cells in the clinic. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Brain Vascular Diseases Management and Therapy)
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