EPO and ischemic stroke: Also, previous reports revealed that the HIF-1α stabilization usually occurs by inhibiting the prolyl-4-hydroxylase domain (PHD) activity, which directs the upregulation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and erythropoietin (Epo) expression, and alleviates the neurological deficit caused by ischemic stroke as well as edema [9,10,11].