Apoptosis in Nervous System Injury

Apoptosis refers to active, programmed cell death; it is different from necrosis, which is considered to be a passive process. Apoptosis occurs in many forms of central nervous system injury. Both neurons and glia have been shown to undergo apoptosis after brain and spinal cord injury, stroke, and neurodegenerative diseases. Several factors, including glutamate, cytokines, and free radicals, have been shown to contribute to neuronal and glial apoptosis across different injury mechanisms. Therefore, it is possible that effective inhibitors of apoptosis could be of benefit in several different types of neurological injury.