Calcium and Ischemic Injury

ISCHEMIC diseases of the heart, kidney, and brain continue to be the primary causes of mortality and morbidity in the United States and other Western industrialized nations. The magnitude of the problem has stimulated much research directed at identifying the proximate causes of ischemic cell death. It is hoped that a clear understanding of ischemia-induced derangements of cell function will allow more rational prevention and therapy.In the past two decades, many potentially damaging factors, such as ATP depletion, plasma-membrane phospholipid degradation, activation of autolytic systems, cellular acidosis, superoxide-induced membrane damage, and mitochondrial dysfunction, have been implicated as playing a . . .