Novel therapies
could one day boost functional recovery from strokes by
restoring contact with "silent brain cells", University of
Otago researcher Dr Andrew Clarkson says.
Dr Clarkson, a research fellow in the university departments
of psychology and anatomy and structural biology, was
commenting during Brain Day activities at the university on
Saturday.
Four university speakers, Dr Clarkson, Dr Liana Machado, Dr
Graeme Hammond-Tooke and Dr Louise Parr-Brownlie, gave free
public lectures during Brain Day, which was part of
international brain awareness week.
The Dunedin activities were hosted by the university Brain
Health and Repair Research Centre, in association with the
Neurological Foundation of New Zealand.
Dr Clarkson noted that some brain cells were killed in
strokes, but recent research suggested that some nearby cells
previously thought to have also been killed were, in fact,
merely "silent".
These cells could potentially be reactivated, helping to
boost functional recovery.
He noted that the main treatment used after stroke was
physical therapy.
Patients embarked on a "long, hard process" in order to
regain some normal limb function.
In a study involving mice, published in Nature last
year, Dr Clarkson and colleagues at the University of
California, including neurologist co-author Dr Thomas
Carmichael, found that a drug compound, part of a class of
drugs known as "extrasynaptic GABA inverse agonists", could
unlock paralysed limbs, with an extra 50% of gross limb motor
mobility gained.
Clinical trials in humans could start within two years, but
the drug needs some further development work to avoid known
side effects in kidneys.
In a wide-ranging address, Dr Clarkson also discussed the
possibility of enhancing aspects of the body's production of
stem cells to boost some of the brain's natural repair
mechanisms.
He also emphasised the importance of swift initial response
to strokes.
In the case of ischemic strokes, which blocked blood and
oxygen supply to part of the brain, clot-busting drugs could
be safely administered only within four and a-half hours of a
stroke.
- john.gibb@odt.co.nz
A name, residential address, and (preferably residential) telephone number is required from readers who comment on ODT Online. These details will not be visible to site visitors.