INTRACISTERNAL BASIC FIBROBLAST GROWTH-FACTOR ENHANCES FUNCTIONAL RECOVERY AND UP-REGULATES THE EXPRESSION OF A MOLECULAR MARKER OF NEURONAL SPROUTING FOLLOWING FOCAL CEREBRAL INFARCTION

Focal cerebral infarction (stroke) due to unilateral occlusion of the middle cerebral artery in mature rats produces deficits in sensorimoto r function of the contralateral limbs that recover partially over time . We found that biweekly intracisternal injection of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF; 0.5 mu g/injection), a potent neurotrophic polype ptide, markedly enhanced recovery of sensorimotor function of the cont ralateral limbs during the first month after stroke without apparent a dverse side effects, Immunostaining for growth-associated protein 43 ( GAP-43), a molecular marker of axonal sprouting, showed a selective in crease in GAP-43 immunoreactivity in the intact sensorimotor cortex co ntralateral to cerebral infarcts following bFGF treatment, These resul ts show that bFGF treatment can enhance functional recovery after stro ke, and that the mechanism may include stimulation of neuronal sprouti ng in the intact brain.