Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The ensuing ischemia due to the disruption of blood supply to the brain is one of the most common causes of stroke. Evidence suggests a clear association of the ischemic injury with vascular dementia and Alzheimer's disease (AD). In response to the brain ischemia, a cascade reaction starts leading to neuronal damage due to oxidative stress and other inflammatory mediators. A pi-lot study was done, which showed that following stroke, monomeric-C-reactive protein (mCRP) is expressed in large quantities around the infarct-ed zone and this CRP is able to induce neurode-generation and inflammation potentially perpet-uating dementia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We examined both patient brain samples and excised mouse brain tissue, previously injected with 1.75 mg/ mL mCRP into the CA1 area of the hippocampus through the stereotactic surgical procedures and followed them over a period of over 6 months. The distribution of mCRP was examined through immunohistochemistry (mouse anti-human mCRP-specific antibodies 8C10). RESULTS: We observed a novel finding: those micro vessels close to the injection location were strongly stained with mCRP only in the mice that had been injected with mCRP, indicating that this small blood vessel can spread it throughout the brain. CONCLUSIONS: mCRP found in the brain after a hemorrhagic stroke promotes damage over a large area via the induction of inflamma-tion and degeneration of perivascular compart-ments.