An Increase of Excitatory-to-Inhibitory Synaptic Balance in the Contralateral Cortico-Striatal Pathway Underlies Improved Stroke Recovery in BDNF Val66Met SNP Mice.
Luye Qin, Hannah S Actor-Engel, Moon-Sook Woo and 4 others
PMID 31524060WHAT IT FOUND
Mice with a BDNF variant showed fewer inhibitory synapses in the opposite cortex and more excitatory synapses in the opposite striatum after stroke.
These changes were seen in animals, not people.
Key findings
01After stroke, expression of a synaptic receptor was elevated only in the hemisphere opposite the stroke in BDNF M/M mice.
02In the dorsal striatum after stroke, excitatory synapse density was 10% higher in BDNF M/M mice than in WT mice.
03After stroke, inhibitory synapse contact on pyramidal neuron dendrites was 47% lower in BDNF M/M mice than in WT mice.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
This was an animal study, so it does not show what happens in people after stroke. No rehabilitation treatment was tested, so it cannot guide therapy choices. The findings describe molecular and structural changes, not measured patient function in this study. Only male mice were studied, so it says nothing about females. Some comparisons were not statistically clear, so the pattern is not uniform.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that a BDNF variant or a synaptic change can be used to improve stroke recovery in people. The study measured mouse brains after experimental stroke and did not test a therapy in patients.