A great deal of interesting work is presently taking place in the broadening field of regenerative medicine - these are the barnstorming years, or at least as close to barnstorming as we're going to get in this overregulated environment. From News-Medical.net: "We are able to rescue neurons [from the results of a stroke] at a time when most research suggests they are already dead. ... The USF study challenges the notion that nerve cells inevitably die quickly in the core region of the brain most severely deprived of oxygen and nutrients when a stroke hits. Instead, the researchers suggest, many nerve cells within ground zero of the attack, like those in mild to moderately damaged outlying areas, may succumb over several days through a slower, more orderly process known as apoptosis, or programmed cell death. ... This delayed death would permit more time to deliver neuron-sparing treatments than originally thought."

Link: http://www.news-medical.net/?id=14421