ABSTRACT
In recent years, an increasing amount of experimental work has been directed toward the search for substances (e.g., trophic factors, pharmaceutical compounds) that could diminish or delay neuronal degeneration secondary to central nervous system injury or genetic diseases. The concept of neuroprotection as a possible therapy for degenerative diseases of unknown mechanisms has gained acceptance among the scientific community. Yet we are still at the stage of gathering bench-laboratory information necessary to understand the neuronal response to injury, and thus it might take some time before neuroprotection becomes an option for clinical management.
