title: Cerebral vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage: putative role of inflammation.
abstract: Cerebral vasospasm is a common, formidable, and potentially devastating complication in patients who have sustained subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Despite intensive research efforts, cerebral vasospasm remains incompletely understood from both the pathogenic and therapeutic perspectives. At present, no consistently efficacious and ubiquitously applied preventive and therapeutic measures are available in clinical practice. Recently, convincing data have implicated a role of inflammation in the development and maintenance of cerebral vasospasm. A burgeoning (although incomplete) body of evidence suggests that various constituents of the inflammatory response, including adhesion molecules, cytokines, leukocytes, immunoglobulins, and complement, may be critical in the pathogenesis of cerebral vasospasm. Recent studies attempting to dissect the cellular and molecular basis of the inflammatory response accompanying SAH and cerebral vasospasm have provided a promising groundwork for future studies. It is plausible that the inflammatory response may indeed represent a critical common pathway in the pathogenesis of cerebral vasospasm pursuant to SAH. Investigations into the nature of the inflammatory response accompanying SAH are needed to elucidate the precise role(s) of inflammatory events in SAH-induced pathologies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, Virginia 22908, USA. asd2f@virginia.edu
authors.forename: Aaron S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Dumont
authors.forename: Randall J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Dumont
authors.forename: Michael M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Chow
authors.forename: Chi-Lung
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Tarkan
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Calisaneller
authors.forename: Klaus F
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Ley
authors.forename: Neal F
authors.initials: NF
authors.lastname: Kassell
authors.forename: Kevin S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004285:Dogs; D000882:Haplorhini; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000628:therapy; D051381:Rats; D013345:Subarachnoid Hemorrhage / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000628:therapy; D020301:Vasospasm, Intracranial / Q000209:etiology* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000517:prevention & control