Figure 4.

Atorvastatin prevents blood–brain barrier disruption after global cerebral ischemia. Due to ischemic damage, BBB was disrupted, as seen from the high concentration of serum IgG that leaked out through damaged vessels. In the sham-operated group, no IgG leakage was observed because the BBB remained intact; in the ischemia-induced group, the BBB was destroyed, and IgG consequently leaked from the damaged vessels, which was confirmed by a chemical reaction (A). The degree of IgG extravasation decreased in the GCI-ATOR group, indicating the protective effects of atorvastatin towards the BBB. Scatter dot plot bar graph representing the degree of IgG leakage in the whole hippocampus (B). Data are mean ± S.E.M., n = 3 for each sham group, n = 8~12 for each ischemia group. * Significantly different from the vehicle-treated group, * p < 0.05.