Clinical Applicability of Conditioning Techniques in Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury: A Review of the Literature

Ischemia refers to a reduced supply of oxygen and nutrient to the vital organ of the body. Reperfusion to the ischemic organ is the only way to salvage injury due to ischemia. Paradoxically, reperfusion itself induces the injury, which is more severe than the previous injury referred to as ischemia-reperfusion injury. Ischemia-reperfusion injury is the major cause of mortality in the case of ischemic diseases. The major hurdle for a clinician to treat ischemia is the reperfusion injury, which is encountered in different surgical as well as non-surgical situations. Several therapies, such as anti-platelets, anti-thrombolytic agents have been developed to contain ischemia-reperfusion injury, but with limited success. Over some time, some conditioning techniques such as preconditioning and postconditioning have been used by clinicians to overcome ischemia-reperfusion injury. The present review focuses on the clinical applications of different conditioning techniques in diverse pathological conditions of ischemia-reperfusion injury.