brain sciences Review The Role of Sartans in the Treatment of Stroke and Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: A Narrative Review of Preclinical and Clinical Studies Stefan Wanderer 1,2,*, Basil E. Grüter 1,2 , Fabio Strange 1,2 , Sivani Sivanrupan 2 , Stefano Di Santo 3, Hans Rudolf Widmer 3 , Javier Fandino 1,2, Serge Marbacher 1,2 and Lukas Andereggen 1,2 1 Department of Neurosurgery, Kantonsspital Aarau, 5001 Aarau, Switzerland;
[email protected] (B.E.G.);
[email protected] (F.S.);
[email protected] (J.F.);
[email protected] (S.M.);
[email protected] (L.A.) 2 Cerebrovascular Research Group, Neurosurgery, Department of BioMedical Research, University of Bern, 3008 Bern, Switzerland;
[email protected] 3 Department of Neurosurgery, Neurocenter and Regenerative Neuroscience Cluster, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, 3010 Bern, Switzerland;
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[email protected] (H.R.W.) * Correspondence:
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[email protected]; Tel.: +41-628-384-141 Received: 17 January 2020; Accepted: 5 March 2020; Published: 7 March 2020 Abstract: Background: Delayed cerebral vasospasm (DCVS) due to aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) and its sequela, delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI), are associated with poor functional outcome. Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is known to play a major role in mediating cerebral vasoconstriction. Angiotensin-II-type-1-receptor antagonists such as Sartans may have a beneficial effect after aSAH by reducing DCVS due to crosstalk with the endothelin system. In this review, we discuss the role of Sartans in the treatment of stroke and their potential impact in aSAH.