Medicament For Reducing Brain Damage After Stroke

Researchers from the University of Manchester have developed a new treatment that could limit the damage caused by stroke, and to promote recovery of the affected brain region, and medicines used it it is already clinically approved.

Published study scientists explain how they developed the treatment using mice bred with them to develop an ischemic stroke, which is najprevalenten type of strokes and which occurs when an artery that carries oxygen-rich blood to the brain is blocked.  

Shortly after the mice survived the impact, they were treated with IL-1Ra (interleukin-1 receptor antagonist), anti-inflammation drug which is already licensed for use in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.
It was noted a decrease of brain damage which typically occurs after a stroke, and that the drug caused a neurogenesis (the creation of new cells) in areas of the brain that have sustained damage. The mice even rebuilt motor skills lost during the stroke.

Otherwise, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Disease, stroke is the 5th leading cause of death in the US, which concerns about 800,000 people every year, and occurs when blood flow to the brain is interrupted, usually due to a clot of blood or a piece of fat disassociated from arteries. The situation is extremely dangerous because the brain cells may die for several minutes after the impact, causing permanent brain damage and even death.

Although the experiments are in the early stages of clinical trials, the researchers hope to soon begin larger trials, and testing on humans.