Longevity and Age Management
Stroke
Studies of living brain tissue may lead to the development of new stroke therapies
15 years, 2 months ago
9410
0
Posted on Jan 22, 2009, 8 a.m.
Researchers are using living brain tissue to learn more about drugs that can block the “waves of death” responsible for the majority of immediate brain cell death following a stroke.
Dr. Sergei Kirov, a neuroscientist at the Medical College of Georgia Schools of Medicine and Graduate Studies, is using slices of living human brain tissue to identify potential new therapies for stroke patients. As he notes, a stroke “takes away” the pump that maintains necessary levels of sodium and potassium in and around brain cells. When the pump is not working accurately, cells become bloated and die. Resulting “waves” cause much of the immediate brain cell death in the stroke's core, with milder waves continuing in contiguous areas called the penumbra. This can potentially increase stroke size and damage. Using an animal model, Dr. Kirov is looking at several drugs to evaluate whether the pounding of the penumbra can be stopped. He has also completed a small pilot study using live human tissue.
