REVIEW article
Front. Neurol.
Sec. Stroke
Iron Metabolism Dysregulation and Post-Stroke Cognitive Impairment: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Perspectives
Provisionally accepted
- 1Jiangnan University Wuxi School of Medicine, Wuxi, China
- 2Wuxi No 2 People's Hospital, Wuxi, China
- 3Nantong University School of Medicine, Nantong, China
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Post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) is a frequent neurological consequence of acute stroke. It manifests as persistent deficits in cognitive function for at least six months following cerebral infarction and substantially diminishes patients' quality of life. Currently, its specific pathogenesis remains unclear. In recent years, increasing attention has been directed toward the contribution of disrupted iron metabolism to the development of PSCI. Acute stroke can cause iron metabolism disorder in the central nervous system and result in iron deposition, which causes damage to nerve cells through mechanisms such as ferroptosis, thereby leading to cognitive decline. Therefore, studies on the treatment of PSCI by regulating this mechanism have emerged. This review summarizes recent advances in the mechanisms linking iron metabolism dysregulation to PSCI and highlights emerging therapeutic strategies, offering new insights for improving its diagnosis and management.
Keywords: ferroptosis, iron chelating agent, iron deposition, iron metabolism, Ketogenic Diet, post-stroke cognitive impairment, Traditional Chinese Medicine
Received: 11 Dec 2025; Accepted: 16 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Guo, Lu, Li, Wu, Zhu and Ma. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Xi-Chen Zhu
Tao Ma
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