Brain ischemia is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide, resulting from a reduction in the blood flow to the brain. This leads to a deprivation of oxygen and glucose, and cell death is the fatal end caused by the reduction of the fuels available for the metabolism of the cells. Brain ischemia may be caused by cardiac arrest (global ischemia, affecting the entire brain) or by ischemic stroke (focal ischemia, which targets a specific brain region).
Ischemic stroke occurs as a result of the occlusion of a blood vessel supplying blood to the brain by a thrombus or an embolus (Doyle et al., 2008; Roger et al., 2012). In this condition, the region of the brain that is most damaged, the ischemic core, fully depends on oxygen and glucose provided by the affected blood vessel, while the penumbra region, the area surrounding the infarcted core, is not as compromised due to a limited supply of components required for the metabolism derived from the collateral circulation.