Advances in neuroprotective therapy for acute ischemic stroke

Abstract

Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is the leading cause of disability worldwide, and recanalization therapy is significant in the hyperacute phase of AIS. However, reperfusion injury and hemorrhagic transformation after recanalization predict poor prognosis of AIS. How to minimize reperfusion injury and hemorrhagic transformation, which greatly improves the prognosis of vascular recanalization, is becoming a hot topic in AIS research and an urgent problem to be solved. A wealth of neuroprotective drug studies is now available, while some of the neuroprotectants have met with failure in human studies. It is discussed in this review about the progress in neuroprotective therapy for AIS based on understanding the pathophysiologic mechanisms of reperfusion injury and hemorrhagic transformation, as well as challenges in exploring new neuroprotectants.