Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor But Not Forced Arm Use Improves Long-Term Outcome After Photothrombotic Stroke and Transiently Upregulates Binding Densities of Excitatory Glutamate Receptors in the Rat Brain

Background and Purpose— Both application of neurotrophic factors like brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and constraint-induced movement therapy like forced arm use have been shown to potentially improve outcome after stroke. The aim of the present study was to check whether postischemic long-term outcome correlates to specific modifications in the abundance of various neurotransmitter receptors. Methods— Adult male Wistar rats were subjected to photothrombotic ischemia and assigned to various treatment groups (n=5 each) with end points at 3 and 6 weeks: (1) ischemic control (saline); (2) BDNF (ischemia, 20 μg BDNF); (3) forced arm use (ischemia, saline, and ipsilateral plaster cast …