Scientists at UCLA Health have made a big discovery that could change the way we treat stroke recovery.
For the first time, researchers have found a drug that can fully copy the effects of physical rehabilitation in mice that had a stroke. The study was recently published in the journal Nature Communications.
Stroke is one of the top causes of long-term disability in adults. Many people do not fully recover after a stroke, and currently there are no approved drugs that help with recovery. The only option is physical therapy, which has limited effects. Most stroke patients cannot handle the intense amount of therapy needed for real improvement.
Dr. S. Thomas Carmichael, lead author of the study and professor of neurology at UCLA, said the ultimate goal is to give stroke patients a pill that works like physical rehab.
“Rehabilitation after stroke hasn’t changed much in decades,” he explained.
“But in other areas of medicine, like heart disease or cancer, we have medications that help patients recover. It’s time for stroke rehab to move into the world of modern medicine.”
To reach this goal, Dr. Carmichael and his team first studied how physical therapy helps the brain heal after a stroke. They worked with both mice and human stroke patients. They discovered that a stroke not only damages the brain in the area where it occurs but also causes problems in other areas by cutting off connections between brain cells.
These connections are important for brain networks to work together. In particular, the team studied a type of brain cell called a parvalbumin neuron.
These neurons help create a brain rhythm called gamma oscillations, which are needed for things like movement. After a stroke, these rhythms disappear. But when patients and mice went through rehab, the rhythms returned and the brain connections improved.
The researchers then tested two new drugs that they thought might help bring back these brain rhythms. One of the drugs, called DDL-920, worked very well. It helped excite the parvalbumin neurons and restored movement ability in the mice, similar to what rehab does.
DDL-920 was developed at UCLA in the lab of Dr. Varghese John, who also helped lead the study. The results are exciting, but more studies are needed to make sure the drug is safe and works well in humans before any clinical trials can begin.
If this research leads to a successful medicine for people, it could be a major step forward in stroke treatment and recovery.
If you care about stroke, please read studies that diets high in flavonoids could help reduce stroke risk, and MIND diet could slow down cognitive decline after stroke.
For more health information, please see recent studies about antioxidants that could help reduce the risk of dementia, and tea and coffee may help lower your risk of stroke, dementia.
The study is published in Nature Communications.
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