Infections And Ischemic Stroke In Young Adults

There is increasing evidence that, in addition to conventional risk factors, acute and chronic infectious diseases increase the risk of ischemic stroke. Acute infection, mainly respiratory, and both bacterial and viral infection, represent temporarily active trigger factors for cerebral ischemia. Chronic infectious diseases that may increase the risk of cerebral ischemia include periodontitis, chronic bronchitis and infections with microbial antigens, such as Helicobacter pylori and Chlamydia pneumoniae. Infection as a risk factor appears to be most important in young age groups. As acute and chronic infectious diseases are treatable and partly preventable conditions, their recognition as risk factors for brain ischemia could be important for stroke prevention.This chapter summarizes current epidemiologic, clinical and experimental data regarding the interactions between infection and ischemic stroke and outlines possible targets for therapeutic intervention.