Webinar on Neurovascular Disorders

Treatment of acute ischemic stroke due to occlusion of a large cerebral vessel has revolutionized by the introduction of mechanical thrombectomy in addition to enzymatic thrombolysis. Still, around 2/3 patients remain disabled or die. Infarcts may still grow after apparently successful clot removal. Impaired microvascular reperfusion could contribute to this. Ischemia and recanalization induce several microvascular and target tissue responses that affect the integrity of the microcirculation. These include local thrombo-inflammatory processes, blood-brain barrier breakdown and oedemic compression, and spasm of pericytes. I will discuss these processes, with focus on experimental studies and the still large gap between experimental findings and clinical relevance.