Regulatory T Cells in Ischemic Stroke

Research in the cerebrovascular field has focused recently on stroke-associated inflammatory processes. These studies produced important results and demonstrated, for instance, that stroke-associated infections are a substantial risk factor for a stroke to occur.1 In addition, the stroke itself was associated with an immunodeficiency-like syndrome.2 This immunodeficient constellation is currently thought to act as a potential inducer for poststroke infections, such as pneumonia, and to influence the final neurological outcome. Consequently, early clinical trials tested the hypothesis of improving outcome preventing infections by a prophylactic antibiotic treatment. These studies indeed revealed reduced …