Introduction to the special issue honoring Richard Traystman

This special issue of the Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism is dedicated to the late Richard J Traystman, PhD (1942–2017), an accomplished scientist with enduring leadership in the field of cerebrovascular science. A true champion of our Society, Dick served as Editor of our Journal and President of the International Society for Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism and was celebrated with the Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017.

In the spirit of appreciation for Dick’s many contributions, we approached several former students and close colleagues of his to contribute an article for a special issue to be published in his honor. We were delighted with the overwhelming and enthusiastic response. The articles in this issue then, both reviews and original research, reflect either directly or indirectly, Dick’s oeuvre and legacy: his remarkable breadth of interests in the physiology and pathophysiology of the adult, juvenile and pediatric cerebral circulation plus those of his accomplished colleagues and former students who sustain this tradition. Importantly, our intent was to choose topics that resonate with the readership of this Journal and members of the Society who strive to understand, prevent and treat the complex spectrum of cerebrovascular and metabolic perturbations in CNS disease.

Necessarily, the range of subjects is broad and includes for example, reviews of powerful imaging tools to study the cerebral microcirculation, ¹ and novel approaches that combine reperfusion and neuroprotection to encourage tissue survival and recovery during acute stroke. ² A volume dedicated to Dick Traystman would not be complete without including new and important information about in vivo models and mechanisms, risk factors and co-morbidities that influence stroke susceptibility and acute injury, and new thoughts about injury and treatment, plus repair and recovery. In this regard, we include a review on perinatal models of brain hypoxia-ischemia ³ and two reviews that dissect how blood pressure elevation impacts the biology of the vessel wall leading to devastating behavioral consequences such as vascular dementia.^4,5 The impact of inflammation is reviewed by Garcia-Culebras et al., ⁶ and the unique role of exosome-mediated cell–cell communication in repair and recovery is reviewed by Venkat et al. ⁷ Rounding out this collection of cutting-edge reviews are two papers that consider the impact of sex-based factors ⁸ and anesthetics ⁹ on brain metabolism and stroke, both important components of Dick Traystman’s scientific legacy.

This special issue also includes four original research papers that reflect Dick’s remarkable range of interests and expertise. Tome et al. describe how novel trafficking mechanisms of the p-glycoprotein transporter may help regulate the blood–brain barrier. ¹⁰ Dietz et al. provide novel findings suggesting an age-dependent mechanism for BDNF signaling during hippocampal recovery. ¹¹ Also included is a new analysis of gene responses and signaling pathways during neuronal oxygen glucose deprivation by Guo et al. ¹² Finally, translation was always a special part of Dick’s body of work. So, the last paper reflects this focus; Wu et al. report the latest advances in combining selective intra-arterial hypothermia with mechanical reperfusion for stroke therapy. ¹³

This tribute then not only reflects our deep admiration for Dick but also our esteem for his many qualities that served and will continue to serve our Society so well over past, present and future decades.