Biopeer

Brain region offsets stroke damage

Findings published by Jacinta O'Shea and colleagues at the University of Oxford in the journal Neuron, show that the dorsal premotor cortex (PMd) in the brain offsets the damage caused to the brain during a stroke. Researchers used magnetic pulses for disrupting the function in the left PMd of human volunteers, simultaneously setting them to a button-pushing task. Results from an MRI scan showed that in the case of a disruption in the left PMd, the right PMd and other areas involved in premotor functions restored brain activity.

Allison Brashear professor of neurology at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology claimed that Botox treatment decreases spasticity-related pain after a stroke. A 12-month study of botulinum toxin type A (BoNTA) evaluating the efficacy and safety of repeated BoNTA treatments, involved 279 patients, who were injected with BoNTA at the elbow, wrist and fingers or thumbs flexor of the affected limb to wedge overactive nerve impulses that trigger excessive muscle contraction. “Having data to support a safe and effective profile for long-term treatment with BoNTA is significant for patients and caregivers,” said Brashear.

A study by Pierre Amarenco, MD, of Denis Diderot University in Paris, which is scheduled to be presented in the 59th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in Boston, reported that statins reduced the risk of stroke and heart attack. Study involved 4,731 people within six months of having a stroke or transient ischemic attack and without a history of heart disease. Half of the participants received the cholesterol-lowering drug atorvastatin and half received a placebo. Inference showed that the average decrease in LDL cholesterol after one month on atorvastatin was 53%. In any case, a fat-free diet is better than cholesterol-lowering drug.

 

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Studies reveal cholesterol’s secrets

Two independent studies have found new risks of high cholesterol levels. One study, conducted by a group of scientists from across the globe, disclosed the possibility of an association between an excessive build-up of cholesterol and type 2 diabetes. Researchers from the Vancouver Child and Family Research Institute at the University of British Columbia examined a group of genetically mutated mice that showed the characteristic symptoms of type 2 diabetes. The scientists turned off the "ATP-binding cassette transporter A1" (ABCA1) gene of the mice. Since this gene controls the cholesterol levels and the insulin secretion in the pancreatic beta cells, considerable changes were found in the quantities of both. The scientists found an unusual increase in cholesterol in the pancreatic beta cells, which they believe hampers the secretion of insulin. However, there are several contradicting theories regarding this. The scientists conclude that further studies need to be conducted to gain a better perspective.

Another study carried out by researchers from Harvard, USA, confirms the increased risk of stroke for women with high cholesterol levels. The scientists examined the medical records of over 27,000 women from USA and Puerto Rico, who were part of the Women’s Health Study. The women were approximately 45 years old and had no prior history of any major illness. Their cholesterol levels were examined at the beginning of the study. The researchers gathered further information over the next 11 years and found that nine out of every 10,000 women suffered from a stroke every year. Linking all cholesterols (except HDL) with ischemic stoke, the researchers believe that high cholesterol levels double the chances of women suffering from stroke. Although the study does have certain limitations, it is based on solid records and has confirmed earlier assumptions made by researchers.

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Chronic ailments the most fatal

Calling it a ‘largely invisible global epidemic’, WHO has termed chronic illnesses as the deadliest worldwide killers and have warned that, in the next 10 years, about 338 million people worldwide are expected to die from various chronic diseases.

A report published by the organization states that chronic aliments including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases (heart ailments, strokes) and cancers account for over 60 per cent of deaths globally. About 80 per cent of these deaths occur in low and middle-income countries like India, China, Russia, etc. While projecting an increase in fatalities by a whooping 17 per cent by 2015, they have urged governments and private sectors in these nations to work unitedly to reduce the death rate from chronic diseases.

According to the Lancet, 36 million people worldwide could be saved in the next 10 years if deaths from chronic conditions were reduced by a mere two per cent every year. Citing economic growth and development, they predict that the achievement of this global goal would benefit China to the tune of $36 billion, $15 billion for India and $20 billion in the Russian Federation.

Although chronic diseases kill nearly 30 million people every year in low and middle-income countries, yet they receive much less attention there than infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and malaria. In India and China, chronic diseases account for 53 per cent and 80 per cent of all deaths, respectively. Both countries have many smokers, and a high incidence of heart disease and lung cancer. Although control programs for tobacco use and cancer are already underway in each country, these efforts need to be coordinated nationally, and expanded to include a balanced diet and exercise.

Herbal cure for cerebral stroke?

Looks like the potential of turmeric as a therapeutic agent is infinite. After cancer, Alzheimer’s, and cystic fibrosis, scientists are now looking at turmeric for a cure for cerebral strokes. Researchers at India’s Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI) have formulated a herbal compound developed from turmeric to treat cerebral strokes. Clinical trials of the drug have been carried out to check its efficacy in the case of ischemic strokes in mice.

Ischemic stroke is the most common type of stroke and accounts for about 70 to 90 per cent of all strokes. It is caused when an artery of the brain becomes blocked. The blockage is caused in one of two ways: either a blood clot forms in an artery feeding the brain (a cerebral thrombosis), or a blood clot forms in another area of the body, breaks loose and travels through the circulatory system, becoming caught in a narrow artery of the brain (a cerebral embolism).

In the CDRI study, in one experiment mice were administered the formulation and then oxygen supply was stopped. Results revealed that 70 to 80 per cent mice didn’t suffer a stroke. In another experiment, the process was reversed. First, the supply of oxygen to the mice was snapped and then the medicine was administered. The results showed that 30 to 40 per cent of the mice did not suffer a cerebral stroke.

After this initial breakthrough, human trials will commence to confirm the efficacy and safety of the medicine on humans and to identify the dosage to be administered. Here’s hoping for the best.

Fetal cells could treat brain damage

Researchers have found that stem cells from developing fetuses travel to the brains of pregnant mice. There they develop into new brain components, including neurons. Doctors hope the findings mean fetal stem cells could one day act as a brain repair kit.

During pregnancy, a small number of fetal stem cells stray across the placenta and into the mother’s bloodstream, a phenomenon called microchimerism. The research team, led by Professor Gavin Dawe of the National University of Singapore and Dr Xiao Zhi-Cheng of Singapore’s Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, showed that, once the stowaways enter mouse brains, they mature into different cell types.

To make the fetal stowaways easy to spot in samples from the mother’s brain, the team mated normal female mice with male mice genetically engineered so that their cells contained a fluorescent protein derived from jellyfish, making them glow. When the researchers induced stroke-like injuries to the brains of some of the mother mice, the fetal cells became six times more concentrated in the damaged areas, suggesting they may be involved in repair.

If the cells produce functioning brain tissue and the same process occurs in humans also, it may be possible to treat brain damage caused by strokes or diseases such as Alzheimer’s simply by injecting a blood vessel with fetal stem cells.