Stroke and Inflammation: From Risk Factors and Pathogenesis to Clinical Implications and Therapeutic Strategies

Stroke remains one of the leading causes of long-term disability and death worldwide. Despite modern stroke prevention and treatment strategies, its prevalence and overall burden are still high, posing a significant public health challenge. Therefore, new stroke risk factors and pathophysiological mechanisms are constantly being explored. 

Inflammation is one of such processes, supposedly contributing to higher stroke risk and poorer outcomes. Targeting chronic inflammation was hypothesised to influence stroke risk and reduce its consequences. 

The role of inflammation in stroke has garnered considerable attention over the years. This topic has been examined from various perspectives, ranging from the impact of inflammation on stroke pathogenesis to the long-term burden of chronic brain inflammation following a stroke. Growing evidence suggests that inflammation could be a major contributor to both the risk of stroke and its outcomes. 

It is well-known that certain chronic infections and systemic inflammatory conditions may increase the risk of stroke. What is more, emerging data reveal the correlation between specific inflammatory markers and stroke severity. Hence, the biomarkers of chronic inflammation may be potentially leveraged as a prognostic tool and therapeutic target to apply specific treatment strategies and ameliorate stroke outcomes. 

Unfortunately, the data on this promising stroke prevention and management pathway are still insufficient to make robust conclusions. Therefore, there is a compelling need to further elucidate the mechanisms and factors by which inflammatory processes influence the acute and chronic phases of stroke. Understanding these issues is crucial for identifying novel therapeutic targets and improving patient outcomes. Studying the problem more widely and informing the clinicians about the role of inflammation in stroke would encourage them to search for inflammatory stroke risk factors more actively and provide them with more precise directions and a wider stroke management armoury in future.

The purpose of this research topic would be an in-depth review of how inflammation contributes to stroke risk, the role of inflammation after the stroke, and how this knowledge can be incorporated into clinical practice. We aim to investigate the subject of inflammation in stroke from different perspectives, addressing not only the mechanisms and pathogenesis of stroke, but also the connections of infectious and systemic inflammatory disorders with stroke and novel therapeutic advances targeting the inflammation in stroke. Practical stroke prevention and management strategies targeting inflammatory processes before and after stroke would be a significant part of this research topic.

We welcome submissions of original research, case series, systematic reviews and narrative reviews, clinical cases of high scientific value pertaining but not limited to the following topics: 

- Stroke Risk due to Acute Infection

- Stroke Risk and Prognosis in the Setting of Chronic Infections

- Stroke and Systemic Inflammatory Disorders 

- Stroke due to Cerebral Vasculitis (Primary or due to Systemic Disorders) 

- Post-Stroke Inflammation, Its Role in Stroke Recovery and Long-Term Outcomes

- Inflammatory Biomarkers: Before, After and During the Stroke

- Therapeutic Inflammation Management Strategies for Stroke Prevention or Management

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• ... View all formats

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Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Stroke, Intracerebral haemorrhage, Inflammation, Infection, Vasculitis

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.