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Julia Castillo González: Role of Cortistatin During the Acute and Subacute Phases of Ischemic Stroke
Jun 30, 2026, 02:02

Julia Castillo González: Role of Cortistatin During the Acute and Subacute Phases of Ischemic Stroke

Julia Castillo González, Early-career researcher at CHUV, shared a post on LinkedIn about a recent article she and her colleagues co-authored, published in Journal of Biomedical Science, adding:

“We are thrilled to share our latest paper, just published in the Journal of Biomedical Science!

Ischemic stroke remains a leading cause of death and disability worldwide.

Neuroinflammation and blood-brain barrier disruption play a critical role in neuronal damage.

Therefore, understanding which endogenous factors control these processes is vital for developing new therapies.

In our study, we explored the role of cortistatin, a neuropeptide with potent immunomodulatory actions, during the acute and subacute phases of ischemic stroke.

What are our key findings?

Without cortistatin, the damage worsens:

We demonstrate for the first time that a deficiency in this neuropeptide amplifies neuroinflammation, worsens glial and neurovascular dysfunction, and even accelerates aging-associated pathological features.

Therapeutic potential:

Conversely, administering cortistatin improves neuronal survival, mitigates immune dysfunction, and preserves both myelin and vascular integrity.

These results highlight cortistatin not only as an essential neuroimmune regulator but also as a highly promising multimodal therapeutic agent for improving short- and long-term stroke outcomes.

None of this would have been possible without the incredible work and dedication of the entire team and my co-authors.

Thank you all for the hard work!

On a very personal note, this work represents the third and final chapter of my PhD thesis.

I am incredibly happy and proud to close this cycle!”

Title: Lack of cortistatin drives neuroimmune and vascular dysfunction in brain ischemia

Authors: Julia Castillo-González, Pablo Vargas-Rodríguez, Ignacio Serrano-Martínez, Alejandro Cuenca-Martagón, Irene Forte-Lago, Melanie Price, Lara Buscemi, Lorenz Hirt, José Luis Ruiz, Elena González-Rey

Julia Castillo González

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