Stroke is the leading cause of adult disability. There are approximately 795,000 strokes per year in the United States. Twenty to 30% of stroke survivors are taken from independence to placement in a nursing home or assisted living environment. Thirty percent of long term stroke survivors cannot walk without assistance. Despite these grave statistics, most stroke patients recover to some degree and the brain does have a limited ability for repair after stroke. The goal of the Carmichael Laboratory is to identify the mechanisms of recovery after stroke. We study the cells and molecules that begin to repair the brain after stroke, and how these are limited or incomplete. We focus on molecular mechanisms of neural repair that might provide for new therapies to promote recovery in stroke. By combining molecular, genetic, cellular and behavioral studies into a systems biology approach to neural repair after stroke, we hope to develop new molecular therapies for stroke recovery.
