Cerebrovascular disorders including ischemic stroke, intracerebral hemorrhage and subarachnoid hemorrhage are among the major clinical concerns for which effective therapies are poorly available. Accumulating lines of evidence indicate that drugs acting on nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) may provide therapeutic effects on these disorders, based on their neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory actions. For example, the cholinergic neurotransmission in the central nervous system via nAChRs may function as an endogenous neuroprotective system that prevents pathogenic events associated with ischemic stroke. On the other hand, exogenous administration of nicotine or nAChR agonists to experimental models of ischemic stroke has been reported to produce conflicting results (either protective or deleterious), which may be largely dependent on the different regiments of drug treatments. With regard to intracerebral hemorrhage, preclinical findings suggest that post-treatment with nAChR agonists is effective in alleviating brain tissue damage and neurological outcome. The beneficial actions of nAChR agonist have also been reported for an experimental model of subarachnoid hemorrhage, which should be confirmed by further investigations. Although smoking has been considered as an important risk factor for stroke episodes, specific targeting of the central nAChRs may prove to be an effective and novel strategy for the treatment of diverse types of cerebrovascular disorders.
Copyright 2018, The Author(s).