FGF2 exerts neuroprotective effects against a wide variety of insults, reducing brain cellular damage and improving functional recovery in experimental models of stroke, epilepsy, traumatic brain and spinal cord injury (Liu and Holmes, 1997a; Teng et al., 1999; Li and Stephenson, 2002; Zucchini et al., 2008). The gene discussed is FGF2; the disease is epilepsy.