Fig. 1

Current therapy for ischemic stroke. Antithrombotic medication will be given to an acute phase patient within hours post-stroke, together with neuroprotective agents and hypothermia treatment to diminish neural cell death and to prevent further inflammatory damage. Stem cell therapy is applied in the chronic phase for the purpose of neuro-restorations in multiple clinical trials. BBB blood–brain barrier, BDNF brain-derived neurotrophic factor, EPO erythropoietin, ROS reactive oxygen species