The subject of the present invention is, in the most general aspect, the prevention and/or treatment of a secondary edema. In particular, the present invention relates to a C1-Inhibitor for use in a method of preventing the formation and/or reducing the size of a secondary edema of the central nervous system (CNS) in a subject wherein the subject has or has had at least one disorder selected from the group consisting of stroke, ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic stroke, perinatal stroke, traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury. Preferably the secondary edema of the CNS is a secondary brain edema. Another subject of the present invention is the treatment of disorders associated with an increased permeability of the blood brain barrier or the blood spinal cord barrier. And a third subject is a plasma-derived C1-inhibitor for use in a method of preventing, reducing or treating brain ischemia-reperfusion injury.
