Neuroprotection for Acute Stroke

Neuroprotection in acute ischemic stroke – current status

With the growing understanding of the mechanism of cell death in ischemia, new approaches for treatment such as neuroprotection have emerged. The basic aim of this strategy is to interfere with the events of the ischemic cascade, blocking the pathological processes and preventing the death of nerve cells in the ischemic penumebra. This concept involves inhibition of the pathological molecular e...

Neuroprotection for acute stroke: making clinical trials work.

BACKGROUND With the exception of the National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke trial of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator, clinical trials in stroke have failed to show improved outcome. If further negative results such as those of recent large neuroprotective trials are to be avoided, trial methodology must be reevaluated. SUMMARY Because there is little evidence from a...

Nitric oxide in acute ischaemic stroke: a target for neuroprotection.

Novel approaches to neuroprotection trials in acute ischemic stroke.

C erebral neuroprotection for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is defined as a therapy aimed at enhancing the brain's resilience to ischemia to improve the clinical outcome of affected individuals. Although traditionally aimed at the salvage of neurons, this term may be equally applicable to all the cellular constituents of the brain, including cells of cerebral blood vessels, neurons, and glia. Pha...

Neuroprotection in Acute Stroke: Is There Still Hope?

Efficacious treatment of acute stroke is a major challenge in modern medicine. Therapeutic neuroprotection acting towards minimization of ischemic neuronal injury in penumbral tissue in the regions of reduced cerebral blood flow seems to be an appealing concept in the treatment of acute stroke and brain trauma. The ‘ischemic cascade’, a complex mechanism of metabolic events initiated by brain i...