New Understanding in the Pathophysiology of the Development of Cerebral Edema after Stroke and Traumatic Brain Injury

In this literature review the main attention is paid to the current understanding of the role of the glymphatic system (GS) in the development of brain edema (BE) in traumatic brain injury (TBI) and ischemic stroke. We discussed recent studies suggesting that glymphatic function is down regulated in brain pathologies and that glymphatic deficiency may in turn contribute to BE in TBI and ischemic stroke. A new understanding of how behavior, genetic predisposition, drugs affect HC function and how this function is decompensated in brain pathologies should lead to the development of new preventive and diagnostic tools and new therapeutic targets.