Within minutes of brain ischemia, cytokines produced by damaged neurons, as well as glial cells in the core area of the infarct and the penumbra, trigger astrocyte activation.8This is also known as reactive astrogliosis, and it is characterized by cell hypertrophy, proliferation, and increased expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), changing the expression of many molecules involved in cell structure, energy metabolism, gene transcription, intracellular signal transduction, and membrane transport proteins.14, 15. Here, GFAP is linked to brain ischemia.