Summary Summary Short summary of a recent publication, written by scientific experts. Published: 17 Jan 2023

A clearer picture of longitudinal synaptic density following ischemic stroke

  • The authors used 11C-UCB-J, a PET tracker, for imaging synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A in the brain, which can be used to study brain changes following stroke.
  • Compared to baseline the 11C-UCB-J standardized update value ratio (SUVR) decreased in both the ischemic region (P=0.001) and peri-ischemic region (P=0.02) at 6-months post ischemic stroke, 11C-UCB-J SUVR also decreased in ipsilesional or contralesional regions typically associated with motor recovery.
  • The authors concluded that synaptic density continue to decline in the 6 months following ischemic stroke and could not identify increased synaptic density in the expected regions which are associated with motor recovery.