A team of scientists from the University of California, Irvine has made an exciting new discovery about what might cause small brain bleeds, especially in older people.
Their research, published in the Journal of Neuroinflammation, found that these brain bleeds may not always be caused by damaged blood vessels as we once thought. Instead, they may come from something else: old red blood cells.
The researchers, led by Dr. Mark Fisher and Dr. Xiangmin Xu, looked closely at how aged red blood cells behave in the brain. They wanted to understand what happens when these cells are no longer healthy.
First, they used a chemical to damage the red blood cells, making them similar to the ones we might find in older people or those under stress. They then marked the cells with a glowing dye and injected them into mice.
What they saw was unexpected. The old red blood cells got stuck in the tiny blood vessels in the brain, called capillaries. Then, special immune cells in the brain, known as microglia, came and swallowed up the stuck red blood cells. This process led to small bleeds in the brain, called cerebral microbleeds.
This is a big discovery because until now, doctors thought brain bleeds were mostly caused by injured or weak blood vessels. But this research shows that even without a clear injury to the blood vessel, the buildup of old red blood cells can cause bleeding.
This new understanding could help explain why some people develop brain bleeds, especially those with conditions like high blood pressure, Alzheimer’s disease, or who have had strokes. Dr. Fisher said that this finding might help doctors create new treatments to prevent or reduce brain bleeding.
The scientists now plan to study how the brain clears out these old red blood cells and whether this process is connected to other kinds of strokes.
This new information could lead to better ways to treat or prevent strokes and brain bleeds in older adults. It may also help us understand how to protect the brain from damage as we age. The discovery offers new hope for millions of people affected by brain diseases.
If you care about stroke, please read studies about how to eat to prevent stroke, and diets high in flavonoids could help reduce stroke risk.
For more health information, please see recent studies about how Mediterranean diet could protect your brain health, and wild blueberries can benefit your heart and brain.
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