Potential treatment strategies for enhancing neuroplasticity and regeneration after ischemic stroke

Strokes are a major cause of death and result in a drastic reduction in quality of life. Novel therapeutic strategies for patients suffering from stroke are thus required. Two possible strategies can be proposed for treating ischemic stroke: enhancing neuroplasticity, allowing the surviving neuronal cells to compensate for stroke-related impairment through brain reorganization, sprouting and rewiring of neuronal cells, or regeneration of neuronal cells, including enhancement of intrinsic neurogenesis and stem cell transplantation therapy with neural stem cells, embryonic stem cells or induced pluripotent stem cells. Endogenous neurogenesis or transplanted neural stem cells, embryonic stem cells or induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cells are able to not only supply newborn neurons integrated into a damaged neuronal network, but also produce growth factors into the recovering brains. These secretory factors enhance sprouting and angiogenesis and may be important in neuroplasticity and recovery in the poststroke brain.