Issues

The cover figure compares the function of the blood-brain barrier within the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus in heart failure (HF) and sham controls rats submitted to sedentary (S) or exercise training (T) protocol. In the presence of compromised blood-brain barrier integrity the low-molecular weight dye (green) leaks into the brain parenchyma while the high-molecular weight dye (red) remains inside the capillaries. The scheme below depicts the main mechanisms determining the increased blood-brain barrier permeability in sedentary heart failure rats and its correction following exercise training, read more from Michelini and colleagues in, ‘Blood-brain barrier lesion - a novel determinant of autonomic imbalance in heart failure and the effects of exercise training’ on pp1049–1066.