Is forebrain neurogenesis a potential repair mechanism after stroke?

The use of adult subventricular zone (SVZ) neurogenesis as brain repair strategy after stroke represents a hot topic in neurologic research. Recent radiocarbon-14 dating has revealed a lack of poststroke neurogenesis in the adult human neocortex; however, adult neurogenesis has been shown to occur, even under physiologic conditions, in the human striatum. Here, these results are contrasted with experimental poststroke neurogenesis in the murine brain. Both in humans and in rodents, the SVZ generates predominantly calretinin (CR)-expressing GABAergic interneurons, which cannot replace the broad spectrum of neuronal subtypes damaged by stroke. Therefore, SVZ neurogenesis may represent a repair mechanism only after genetic manipulation redirecting its differentiation.