The role of MAPK in cerebral vasospasm

Cerebral vasospasm is the major cause of mortality and morbidity in patients of subarachnoid hemorrhage. Despite intensive studies during the past five decades, the signaling pathways in cerebral arteries that lead to the pathological contraction remain elusive. The complex nature of cerebral vasospasm requires a complex signaling pathway or a group of pathways that may need to interact to initiate and maintain vasospasm. This review explores the possibility that mitogen-activated protein kinase is the elusive signaling pathway responsible for cerebral vasospasm. (C) 2001 Prous Science. All rights reserved.