Hanyang Med Rev.  2006 Feb;26(1):33-43.

Role of Oxidative Stress in Neurodegenerative Diseases and Ischemic Stroke, and Prospects of Antioxidant Therapies as a New Therapeutic Strategy

• Koh SH
• Kim SH

Abstract

Roles of oxidative stress have recently been emphasized in the pathogenic mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases and ischemic stroke. Many recent increasing evidence support that oxidative stress induces neuronal death related to neurodegenerative diseases and stroke. There fore, identification of cellular targets affected by oxidative stress and development or discovery of antioxidants relieving oxidative stress-induced damage would be extremely beneficial to reduce or postpone disability from neurodegenerative diseases and stroke. Here we discuss the roles of oxidative stress in neuronal cell death, known until now, and the possibility of antioxidants as a new therapeutic strategy. Oxidative stress and reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been confirmed to cause neuronal cell death by affecting several intracellular signals, such as phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt, Wnt, glycogen synthase kinase-3beta, c-Jun N-terminal kinase, signals associated with mitochondrial dysfunction, caspase-3, poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase, etc. And, many antioxidants, including epigallocatechin gallate, diallyl disulfide, several kinds of vitamin, etc, have been clarified to protect neuronal cells from oxidative stress and ROS by affecting various intracellular signals. Therefore, appropriate use of antioxidants may be a new and good therapeutic strategy that can modulate and treat neurodegenerative disease.

Keyword

Oxidative stress; Antioxidant; Neuro degenerative disease

MeSH Terms

Antioxidants
Caspase 3
Cell Death
Glycogen Synthase
JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases
Neurodegenerative Diseases*
Neurons
Oxidative Stress*
Phosphatidylinositols
Reactive Oxygen Species
Stroke*
Vitamins
Antioxidants
Caspase 3
Glycogen Synthase
JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases
Phosphatidylinositols
Reactive Oxygen Species
Vitamins