Transient ischemia attack (TIA) is a brief episode of neurological dysfunction caused by a transient but reversible disruption of blood supply to a specific region of brain without demonstrated tissue injury. Although TIA has long been regarded as a benign cerebral ischemia event, it in fact represents a critical warning for patients and their caregivers, as approximately 23% of patients with ischemic stroke experience TIA hours to days before the onset of acute cerebral infarction (Rothwell and Warlow, 2005). In addition, TIA is associated with long-term cognitive decline, which is a higher risk of dementia (Del Bene et al, 2025). Therefore, timely recognition and management of TIA are essential and more valuable to prevent subsequent stroke and reduce the risk of disability. This News & Views highlights a recent study by Llovera and colleagues (in this issue of EMBO Molecular Medicine) introduces a rigorously characterized, tissue-based animal model of transient brain ischemia.
Zheng et al. (Fri,) studied this question.