Simvastatin combined with bone marrow stromal cells treatment activates astrocytes to ameliorate neurological function after ischemic stroke in rats

Evidence indicates that reactive astrocytes play an important role in neurological functional amelioration after stroke. Bone marrow stromal cell (BMSC) transplantation-promoted astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factors’ expressions resulted in decreasing the number of apoptotic neurons and improving neurogenesis and angiogenesis in the ischemic boundary zone.