Stroke is among the top three leading causes of death and disability in the United States and in the world. In the United States, approximately 700,000 strokes lead to 165,000 deaths every year. Mortality for survivors is high, with as low as 50% 5-year survival in some studies. All surviving stroke patients suffer from at least some degree of disability. Prognosis for the survivors largely depends on the severity of the brain injury. In the long term, this injury is caused by both the primary stroke event and secondary neuronal death; the latter is produced by a series of cellular and molecular events initiated by the primary trauma. While it is practically impossible to reduce the damage from the primary stroke event after it has happened, factors responsible for secondary damage can be alleviated. However, current therapeutic approaches focus primarily on prevention, with limited or no treatment options currently available for patients after the stroke onset. Thus, developing a new therapy to address secondary neuronal death in stroke is highly significant as it is expected to improve the long term mortality and reduce the degree of disability for large number of stroke patients. This chapter will address the impact of oxidative stress in stroke and the potential therapeutic approach of using nanoparticles containing antioxidants to protect that brain from the secondary effects.
© 2015 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.