Responses of the SVZ to hypoxia and hypoxia/ischemia

Stroke is a devastating injury caused by interruption of the blood supply to the brain. Each year, about 700,000 people in the United States suffer a stroke incurring healthcare costs of more than $50 billion (Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics - 2003 Update, 2002). While advances in the acute treatment of stroke have improved the survival rates, little success has been realized in decreasing the associated morbidity. Stroke survivors suffer a wide range of neurological deficits depending on the location in the brain where the stroke occurs. These effects include, but are not limited to, paralysis, sensory deficits, memory loss and personality changes. Additionally, hypoxic/ischemic (H/I) injury is the single most important cause of brain damage resulting from complications during birth, leading to permanent neurological deficits. Every year, perinatal H/I afflicts approximately 1-2 per 1000 term births and roughly half of surviving preterm infants. Many of these infants suffer long-term handicaps that include learning disabilities, mental retardation, epilepsy and cerebral palsy (Volpe, 2001).