Abstract
Cerebral ischemia, most notably in the form of stroke, is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality resulting in long-term disability in the USA. Approximately 800,000 strokes occur each year in the USA, and 87 % of all strokes in the world are caused by embolism, thrombosis, or systemic hemorrhage/hypoperfusion, all of which are a form of cerebral ischemia (Roger et al. 2011). The medical cost for the treatment of stroke in the USA was estimated to be $25 billion in 2007 (Roger et al. 2011). Due to this great burden, a fundamental understanding of cerebral ischemia and the inciting cellular dysfunction is imperative for the development of new therapies to combat this growing epidemic.