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Cellular Injury During Ischemia
Consequences of Calcium Overload
 Entry
of calcium through the NMDA (and similar channels) can be
devastating. First, attempts to get rid of the excess
calcium use up already scarce supplies of ATP. Second,
excessive calcium influx causes the disordered activation
of a wide range of enzyme systems (proteases, lipases, and
nucleases). These enzymes and their metabolic products,
such as oxygen free radicals, damage cell membranes, genetic
material, and structural proteins in the neurons, ultimately
leading to cell death. This sequence of events has been
termed excitotoxicity because of the pivotal role of excitatory
amino acids such as glutamate.
Several agents are under investigation to block
these steps.
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Stroke Education
