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Review
. 2021 Nov 25;10(12):1886.
doi: 10.3390/antiox10121886.

Oxidative Stress in the Brain: Basic Concepts and Treatment Strategies in Stroke

Matyas Jelinek  1   2 , Michal Jurajda  1 , Kamil Duris  1   3
Affiliations
Review

Oxidative Stress in the Brain: Basic Concepts and Treatment Strategies in Stroke

Matyas Jelinek et al. Antioxidants (Basel). .

Abstract

The production of free radicals is inevitably associated with metabolism and other enzymatic processes. Under physiological conditions, however, free radicals are effectively eliminated by numerous antioxidant mechanisms. Oxidative stress occurs due to an imbalance between the production and elimination of free radicals under pathological conditions. Oxidative stress is also associated with ageing. The brain is prone to oxidative damage because of its high metabolic activity and high vulnerability to ischemic damage. Oxidative stress, thus, plays a major role in the pathophysiology of both acute and chronic pathologies in the brain, such as stroke, traumatic brain injury or neurodegenerative diseases. The goal of this article is to summarize the basic concepts of oxidative stress and its significance in brain pathologies, as well as to discuss treatment strategies for dealing with oxidative stress in stroke.

Keywords: RNS; ROS; antioxidants; brain; free radicals; oxidative stress; scavengers; stroke.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Sources of free radicals and consequences of imbalance. NADPH oxidase (NOX), xanthine oxidase (XO), nitric oxide synthase (NOS), superoxide dismutase (SOD), myeloperoxidase (MPO), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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