title: Mechanisms and potential therapeutic applications of microglial activation after brain injury.
abstract: As the resident immune cells of the central nervous system, microglia rapidly respond to brain insults, including stroke and traumatic brain injury. Microglial activation plays a major role in neuronal cell damage and death by releasing a variety of inflammatory and neurotoxic mediators. Their activation is an early response that may exacerbate brain injury and many other stressors, especially in the acute stages, but are also essential to brain recovery and repair. The full range of microglial activities is still not completely understood, but there is accumulating knowledge about their role following brain injury. We review recent progress related to the deleterious and beneficial effects of microglia in the setting of acute neurological insults and the current literature surrounding pharmacological interventions for intervention.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Jong-Youl
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Nuri
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Midori A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Yenari
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D017628:Microglia / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Brain injury; Inflammation; Microglia; Neurotoxic mediator