Antioxidants and neuroprotection

With an ever increasing aging population, age-related neurodegenerative disorders such as stroke and Alzheimer's disease (AD) are a major health concern in our society. AD is a debilitating disease affecting more than 35 million individuals worldwide, a figure that is expected to increase to over 115 million by 2050 (Rosamond et al. 2008). Similarly, stroke is the second leading cause of death in the world occurring in middle-aged and the elderly. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) estimations in 2005, stroke accounted for 5.7 million deaths worldwide, equivalent to 9.9 % of all deaths. The pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders is often complex and includes a number of features such as a genetic disposition as well as common causative factors that include aging, excitotoxicity, inflammation, as well as oxidative stress. Although a lot of progress has been made in the understanding of brain disease pathogenesis, unfortunately therapies are far from being effective. In this chapter, the contribution of oxidative stress to the pathogenesis of neurodegeneration will be discussed.