Investigational therapies for ischemic stroke: neuroprotection and neurorecovery.

ABSTRACT: Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide. Current treatment strategies for ischemic stroke primarily focus on reducing the size of ischemic damage and rescuing dying cells early after occurrence. To date, intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator is the only United States Food and Drug Administration approved therapy for acute ischemic stroke, but its use is limited by a narrow therapeutic window. The pathophysiology of stroke is complex and it involves excitotoxicity mechanisms, inflammatory pathways, oxidative damage, ionic imbalances, apoptosis, angiogenesis, neuroprotection, and neurorestoration. Regeneration of the brain after damage is still active days and even weeks after a stroke occurs, which might provide a second window for treatment. A h

SUBMITTER: Sahota P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3250280 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature