Stroke: A new drug may reduce brain damage from stroke by 60% |

Globally, strokes affect 15 million individuals annually, resulting in 5 million deaths and leaving another 5 million with permanent disabilities. Recognizing the severe consequences of stroke, scientists have developed a promising new drug. This innovative treatment aims to significantly minimize brain damage caused by strokes, potentially improving patient outcomes and quality of life.

15 million people suffer a stroke every year worldwide, according to the World Health Organisation(WHO). Of these, 5 million die, while another 5 million are left permanently disabled. What makes a stroke exceptionally dangerous, is that it could either be fatal or leave the person disabled. The latter significantly reduces the quality of life. Scientists have now developed a new drug that may significantly reduce brain damage caused by strokes. Yes, that’s right!Scientists from the University of Cambridge have developed a drug that can reduce brain damage caused by strokes by 60%. The findings of the study is published in Cardiovascular Research.

A stroke occurs when blood flow to the brain is blocked or there is sudden bleeding in the brain. There are two types of strokes.

Ischemic stroke is a stroke that occurs when the blood flow to the brain is blocked. Hemorrhagic strokes are those that occur when a blood vessel ruptures and bleeds into the brain. Ischemic stroke is the most common type, accounting for approximately 87% of all strokes. A stroke can be either fatal or leave devastating consequences. As many as one in four people will have a stroke during their lifetime. The first few hours following a stroke are crucial. This is the time when the blood clot needs to be removed quickly so that the oxygen supply to the brain can be restored; otherwise, the brain tissue begins to die. At present, the gold standard treatment is mechanical thrombectomy. However, the outcomes are still poor, with fewer than one in 10 patients leaving the hospital with no neurological impairment.

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The Cambridge scientists have developed and tested a new drug in mice that has the potential to reduce damage to the brain when blood flow is restored following a stroke.“Stroke is a devastating disease. Even for those who survive, there is a significant risk of damage to the brain that can lead to disabilities and a huge impact on an individual’s life. But in terms of treatment, once the stroke is happening, we have only limited options,” Professor Thomas Krieg from the Department of Medicine at the University of Cambridge said in a statement. Mechanical thrombectomy is a minimally invasive medical procedure where a thin tube, known as a catheter, is inserted into the blood vessel, often through the groin or arm. This is guided to the blood clot, where it is removed by a tiny device, restoring normal blood flow.However, restoring the blood flow too quickly could also backfire. This is called ischaemia-reperfusion injury, where blood rushes back into the oxygen-starved tissue (a process known as reperfusion), the damaged cells struggle to cope, leading to the production of harmful molecules called free radicals that can damage cells, proteins, and DNA. This triggers further damage and can cause an inflammatory response.A previous study by the Cambridge team showed that when the brain is starved of oxygen, it lead to the build-up of a chemical called succinate. When blood flow is restored, the succinate is rapidly oxidised to drive free radical production within mitochondria, the ‘batteries’ that power our cells, initiating the extra damage. This occurs within the first few minutes of reperfusion, but the researchers showed that the oxidation of succinate can be blocked by the molecule malonate.“All of this happens very rapidly, but if we can get malonate in quickly at the start of reperfusion, we can prevent this oxidation and burst of free radicals. We discovered in our labs that we can get malonate into cells very quickly by lowering the pH a little, making it a bit more acidic, so that it can cross the blood-brain barrier better. If we inject it into the brain just as we’re ready to reperfuse, then we can potentially prevent further damage,” Professor Mike Murphy from the Medical Research Council Mitochondrial Biology Unit said. The findings

The new study found that treating the brain with a form of the chemical known as acidified disodium malonate (aDSM) alongside mechanical thrombectomy greatly decreased the amount of brain damage that occurs from ischaemia-reperfusion injury by as much as 60%.The researchers developed a mouse model that mimics mechanical thrombectomy, allowing the team to test the effectiveness of aDSM against ischaemia-reperfusion injury.“This approach reduces the amount of dead brain tissue resulting from a stroke. This is incredibly important because the amount of dead brain tissue is directly correlated to the patient’s recovery, to their disability, whether they can still use all their limbs, speak, and understand language, for example,” Dr Jordan Lee, a postdoctoral researcher in the group, and the one behind the mouse model, said.

The researchers are now hoping to start early-stage clinical trials.

“If it’s successful, this same drug could have much wider applications for other instances of ischemia-reperfusion injuries, such as heart attack, resuscitation, organ transplantation, and so on, which have similar underlying mechanisms,” Professor Murphy added.