Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) stimulating angiogenesis was shown to be a potential novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of ischemic vascular diseases.The goal of the present study was to examine whether transfection of VEGF before occurrence of major stroke (part I) and cerebral vasospasm after experimental subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH; part II) develops neuroprotective qualities. This evidence concerns the gene VEGFA and subarachnoid hemorrhage.