Foe Revisited: Ethanol And The Neuroprotection Hypothesis

Abstract

For the majority of medical staff and laymen the alcohol is considered as a risk factor, whose consuming should be sober if not refrained completely. There is a large bulk of studies proving the pathogenetic link between ethanol and stroke. However, some authors have considered the reversal possibility of ethanol acting as a neuroprotective agent. Although most of these studies are experimental and realized among laboratory animals, the contributive authors strongly believe in the ethanol as playing a potential role in the neuroprotection, immediately post-stroke and expanding its scope in traumatic brain injuries as well. It seems that these experimental studies will not produce any immediate or future changes in the stroke treatment strategies, as long as the road from bench to bedside is hampered from the skepticism of medical professionals.