The Use of Doublecortin to Quantify the Effects of Pharmacological Treatment on Neurogenesis and Functional Recovery after Stroke

Ischemic strokes account for 87% of all strokes and can have debilitating effects on language, sensory, and motor skills. Currently, tPA is the only medication approved by the FDA for the treatment of ischemic stroke, but the window of time to administer the drug is very small. In this thesis, we investigate the use of a simvastatin and fluoxetine drug combination (FS) as a possible treatment for ischemic stroke victims. To analyze the effects of FS on neurogenesis and functional recovery, we utilize the Montoya Staircase and quantify the amount of neurogenesis using doublecortin. Although the results of this study show that the drug treatment did not produce the significant increase in neurogenesis when comparing the control with the drug-treated animals as we had hoped for, nor did it translate to an increase in functional recovery, there was significantly more neurogenesis in the right hemisphere in the anterior and middle region of the subventricular zone (SVZ) of the FS rats than the left. This tells us that the drug treatment did produce a significant amount of neurogenesis in the SVZ, but further work need to be done to better understand how the FS drug treatment affects neurogenesis and functional recovery. There may be an optimal window of time and dosage that will lead to a greater significance in recovery and higher levels of neurogenesis. This could open the door for a better treatment option to increase the quality of life for ischemic stroke patients