The Role of Cortisol in the Development of Post-Stroke Dementia: A Narrative Review

Abstract

Stroke is defined as a neurological deficit which lasts more than 24 h or leads to death, which is caused by a focal acute injury to the central nervous system with a vascular origin. Strokes are one of the greatest challenges in public health. As an acutely stressful event, strokes have been associated with an increased release in the stress hormone cortisol. Elevated cortisol has been linked to deleterious impacts on the brain, particularly the hippocampus, and has been associated with the development of dementia, though the mechanisms behind this remain unclear. Dementia is also an important stroke outcome, affecting approximately a third of stroke survivors in the long term. This review explores the relationship between strokes and cortisol, to determine the association between cortisol and hippocampal/neuronal damage and poststroke dementia and cortisol.