We and others have shown that aberrant MMP-9 proteolytic activity is associated with increased permeability of the BBB, which results in brain edema and hemorrhage, and directly contributes to neuronal apoptosis and brain damage after AIS (Gasche et al., 1999b; Lapchak et al., 2000; Gu et al., 2002). Here, MMP9 is linked to androgen insensitivity syndrome.