Abstract 169: Diet-induced Diabetes Impairs Neovascularization and Functional Recovery After Ischemic Stroke

Introduction: Acute ischemic stroke is the leading cause of long-term disability in the United States. While it is known that diabetes worsens stroke outcome and diet-induced metabolic disease is on the rise, the impact of diabetes and especially diet-induced metabolic disease, on repair and recovery after stroke is unclear. Accordingly, the goal of this study is to test the hypothesis that diet-induced diabetes impedes vascular restoration and functional recovery after ischemic stroke. Methods: Diabetes was induced by a combination of high fat (45%) diet and low dose (30mg/kg) streptozotocin (STZ) in male Wistar rats. Rats fed by control diet were used as control group. Eight weeks after the induction of diabetes, control or diabetic rats were subjected to 90-minute temporary middle cerebral artery occlusion and neurobehavioral outcome was assessed at Days 1, 3, 10 and 14. After fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran (FITC) injection, the cerebral angioarchitecture was assessed by 3-dimensional reconstructio...