Abstract: Cerebral ischemia-reperfusion results in damage on neuron, leading to genes and proteins related to apoptosis activation. At the same time, generous cytokines released after cerebral ischemia-reperfusion can induce the apoptosis of the neuron. Many current studies have showed that the major damage mechanisms on apoptosis of the neuron are mitochondrion impairment, calcium overload, increased levels of oxygen radicals and so on. The advance research on the mechanism contributes to explore new neuroprotective drugs, and further identify the target and therapeutic effect of drug treatment.

Key words: ischemia-reperfusion, apoptosis, drug, review