Advances in Studies on Stroke-Induced Secondary Neurodegeneration (SND) and Its Treatment

BACKGROUND: The occurrence of secondary neurodegeneration has exclusively been observed after the first incidence of stroke. In humans and rodents, post-stroke secondary neurodegeneration (SND) is an inevitable event that can lead to progressive neuronal loss at a region distant to initial infarct. SND can lead to cognitive and motor function impairment, finally causing dementia. The exact pathophysiology of the event is yet to be explored. It is seen that the thalami, in particular, are susceptible to cause SND. The reason behind this is because the thalamus functioning as the relay center and is positioned as an interlocked structure with direct synaptic signaling connection with the cortex. As SND proceeds, accumulation of misfolded proteins and microglial activation are seen in the thalamus. This leads to increased neuronal loss and worsening of functional and cognitive impairment. OBJECTIVE: There is a necessity of specific interventions to prevent post-stroke SND, which are not properly investigated to date owing to sparsely reproducible pre-clinical and clinical data. The basis of this review is to investigate about post-stroke SND and its updated treatment approaches carefully. METHODS: Our article presents a detailed survey of advances in studies on stroke-induced secondary neurodegeneration (SND) and its treatment. RESULTS: This article aims to put forward the pathophysiology of SND. We have also tabulated the latest treatment approaches along with different neuroimaging systems that will be helpful for future reference to explore. CONCLUSION: In this article, we have reviewed the available reports on SND pathophysiology, detection techniques, and possible treatment modalities that have not been attempted to date.