What Is Neuroprotection?

Featured Article
Main Category: Stroke
Also Included In: Neurology / Neuroscience;  Parkinson's Disease;  Multiple Sclerosis
Article Date: 09 Oct 2006 - 9:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

Neuroprotection is the mechanisms and strategies used to protect against neuronal injury or degeneration in the Central Nervous System (CNS) following acute disorders (e.g. stroke or nervous system injury/trauma) or as a result of chronic neurodegenerative diseases (e.g. Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, Multiple Sclerosis).

The goal of neuroprotection is to limit neuronal dysfunction/death after CNS injury and attempt to maintain the highest possible integrity of cellular interactions in the brain resulting in an undisturbed neural function.

There is a wide range of neuroprotection products available or under investigation and some products can potentially be used in more than one disorder, as many of the underlying mechanisms of damage to neural tissues (in both acute disorders and in chronic neurodegenerative diseases) are similar. Products with neuroprotective effects are grouped into the following categories:

-- Free radical trappers/scavengers
-- Anti-excitotoxic agents
-- Apoptosis (programmed cell death) inhibitors
-- Anti-inflammatory agents
-- Neurotrophic factors
-- Metal ion chelators
-- Ion channel modulators
-- Gene therapy

Medical News Today is pleased to announce the launch of a new information resource dedicated to raising awareness of the role of neuroprotection in Acute Ischemic Stroke (AIS).

The National Stroke Association states that stroke is the number one cause of adult disability in America (66% of survivors having some type of disability) - there are an estimated 15 million strokes occurring worldwide each year.

The new section details the cascade of events following AIS and the effects of neuroprotection on outcomes.

Written by: Peter Hill
Medical News Today
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

• Additional
• References
• Citations