(398e) Repairing the Brain After Stroke: a Biomaterials Strategy

Stroke is the leading cause of disability due to the brain’s limited capacity to regenerate damaged tissue. After stroke, an increased inflammatory and immune response coupled with severely limited angiogenesis and neuronal growth results in a stroke cavity devoid of normal brain tissue. However, stroke also induces the formation of a pro-repair/plastic region in the area adjacent to the stroke core that commences in the weeks to days after stroke and subsides months after stroke. We propose that the delivery of pro-repair biomaterial scaffolds in synchronization with the endogenous pro-repair window will result in repair of the stroke cavity. This talk will focus on our current efforts to promote brain repair after stroke utilizing biomaterials.