-Review-

Brain Protection Therapy in Acute Cerebral Infarction

Ken-ichiro Katsura, Satoshi Suda, Arata Abe, Takuya Kanamaru, Yusuke Toda and Yasuo Katayama

Department of Neurological, Nephrological and Rheumatological Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School

Many drugs for cerebral infarction that were shown to be effective in animal experiments have shown negative results in human clinical trials. For this reason, a completely new approach is needed to develop brain protection therapies against cerebral infarction. Brain protection therapies can be categorized into 3 types: 1) lengthening the therapeutic time window for thrombolytic therapy, 2) reducing the side effects of thrombolytic therapy, and 3) brain protection drug therapy for patients with contraindications for thrombolytic therapy (including combination therapy). Here, we show our recent results of brain protection therapy. First, combination therapy with 2 effective drugs was tried, and time-lag administration was performed. Combination therapy was effective and lengthened the therapeutic time window. Next, a completely new approach to improve cerebral ischemic damage, namely, H₂ gas inhalation therapy, was tried. This therapy was also effective, even in the ischemic core.

J Nippon Med Sch 2012; 79: 104-110

Keywords
penumbra, free radical scavenger, FK506, FNK, H₂ gas, combination therapy

Correspondence to
Ken-ichiro Katsura, Department of Neurological, Nephrological and Rheumatological Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School, 1-1-5 Sendagi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8603, Japan
k-katsur@nms.ac.jp

Received, October 16, 2011
Accepted, October 31, 2011