TKT and Brain atrophy: We found that depletion of DCX-expressing cells in GCV-treated DCX-TK(+) middle-aged mice resulted in both increased infarct volume (acute phase) or brain atrophy (chronic phase) and more severe neurologic deficits, compared with vehicle-treated DCX-TK(+) middle-aged mice and either GCV- or vehicle-treated DCX-TK(−) mice.