Stroke, the third leading cause of death in adults in the United States, occurs when blood flow to the brain is interrupted. Deprived of oxygen, brain cells die within minutes, causing inflammation and further damage to tissue surrounding the site where blood flow is obstructed.
In the study, a research team led by Byron Ford, PhD, of the MSM Neuroscience Institute and Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology and CBN, examined the effects of administering neuregulin-1 to rats after surgically induced strokes. The scientists discovered the compound reduced cell death by 90 percent compared to rats that did not receive it. Neuregulin-1 also protected neurons from damage even when administered as long as 13 hours after the stroke's onset.
In DNA microarray analysis of the affected brain tissue, Ford and his team determined neuregulin-1 produces its protective effects by turning on or off nearly 1,000 genes that regulate cell death and inflammation. Neuregulin-1 also blocks the production of free radicals, compounds that have been implicated in cell injury and aging.
Currently, a drug called TPA is the only available stroke treatment, and must be administered within three hours of stroke onset to be effective. "The biggest potential benefit of neuregulin-1 is that its therapeutic window is much longer than TPA, potentially up to 48 hours," said Ford. "It also appears to easily cross the blood-brain barrier and does not produce any obvious side effects in rats."
Ford has filed two provisional patents for the uses of neuregulin-1 as a st
'"/>
Contact: Shandra Hill Smith
shill@msm.edu
404-752-1079
Emory University Health Sciences Center
13-Dec-2005