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INTRODUCTION Cerebral ischemia is frequently due to arterial occlusion of intra or extra-cranial blood vessels by thrombi or emboli. The initial lesion is most frequently located in extracranial vessels, particularly the internal carotid artery and the most common cause is atherosclerotic disease. These thrombi or emboli are essentially composed of fibrin and platelets. On analysis of the atherothrombotic process, we recognize that hemostasis is activated on a damaged vascular surface. Platelet activation on the wall of a diseased vessel is an initial step in the formation of an arterial thrombus, in the absence of vascular stasis. The thrombus forms on an arterial atherosclerotic plaque and may frequently embolize to the cerebral arteries from a more proximal source, such as the carotid artery. Since platelet activation is the initial and cardinal step in the development of numerous cases of cerebral ischemia, therapy is directed against platelet activation dependent processes and has proven useful in the prevention of cerebral ischemia associated to atherosclerosis.

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2013-07-24   |   400 visitas   |   Evalua este artículo 0 valoraciones

Vol. 62 Núm.2. Marzo-Abril 2010 Pags. 135-140 Rev Invest Clin 2010; 62(2-ENGLISH)