A review of the clinical use of anti-inflammatory therapies for reperfusion injury in myocardial infarction and stroke: where do we go from here?

A number of prominent studies have been conducted using anti-inflammatory therapies to reduce reperfusion injury in myocardial infarction and stroke. Unfortunately, most strategies have failed. This review summarizes in detail the human studies of anti-inflammatory therapy that have been conducted to date. The potential reasons for treatment failure will be discussed from a non-clinical perspective, as will lessons learned from these studies that might guide the design of future clinical studies in this important area.