A new potential drug could help reduce the number of brain cells destroyed after a stroke, while also repairing the damage produced by the medical condition. Strokes are currently one of the most common causes of death in the United States, which makes this possible new treatment a huge step in combatting preventable deaths.

The study, conducted at the University of Manchester, has found a drug that works in rodents when it comes both to limiting the death of the existing brain cells and helping the creation of new ones, a process named neurogenesis.

Stroke Brain Damage — Potential Medication

The results of this study support future development of a new anti-inflammatory drug, called interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra), as a potential treatment candidate when it comes to people suffering from this affection. There is already a license in force which allows some people to use it, assuming that they have a series of conditions, among which is rheumatoid arthritis.

 A number of early stage clinical trials have already been conducted and completed in Manchester in relation to stroke, as part of the study. However, the drug is not yet licensed when it comes to treating this medical condition.

The study, published in the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity, also showed that the rodents have increased the numbers of neurons after the stroke when treated with the anti-inflammatory IL-1Ra. There have been other researches attempting to create a drug that could minimize brain damage as a result to strokes, but none of them were successful.

"The results lend further strong support to the use of IL-1Ra in the treatment of stroke, however further large trials are necessary," noted Professor Stuart Allan, lead author of the study.

Reparatory Medicine — New Directions Of Study

The new cells are believed to help the repairing process in areas of the brain that are damaged due to a stroke. Previous researches conducted by the same scientists have suggested that a possible treatment with the IL-1Ra formula does help rodents, especially when it comes to gaining the motor skills lost after suffering a heart attack. Consequent clinical trials conducted before the current research also confirmed this hypothesis.

The current research is all the more important as it opens new ways of researching the implications of this possible treatment, as well as it gives hope that this medical condition could be less invasive in the future. A more efficient treatment could help in the patients' recovery after a stroke, which could lead to a significant decrease in preventable deaths.