Inhibition of PDGFRα signaling with the small tyrosine kinase inhibitor imatinib has been shown to reduce BBB dysfunction, as demonstrated in animal models of neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases such as MS2 and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)37, respectively, but also in acute conditions such as stroke57, spinal cord injury (SCI)1, traumatic brain injury (TBI)58 and seizures25. This evidence concerns the gene PDGFRA and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.