Spreading edema after strokeThe brain is enveloped in a cushion of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), which normally provides protection and helps to remove metabolic waste. CSF transport has also recently been shown to play unexpected roles in neurodegeneration and sleep. Mestreet al.used multimodal in vivo imaging in rodents and found that, after a stroke, an abnormally large volume of CSF rushes into the brain, causing swelling (see the Perspective by Moss and Williams). This influx of CSF is caused by constrictions of arteries triggered by a well-known propagating chemical reaction-diffusion wave called spreading depolarization. CSF transport can thus play a role in brain swelling after stroke.Science, this issue p.eaax7171; see also p.1195