According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 795,000 people in the United States suffer strokes every year. Most people who have had a stroke Ischemic strokethis is brain damage caused by loss of blood flow to the brain due to a blood clot or plaque. Some individuals suffering from ischemic stroke lose motor skills.
Strokes are common, but no medication treats stroke patients more than the first 3-4 hours after the stroke occurs. This shortage of post-stroke drugs has led scientists at Lund University in Sweden to investigate long-term stroke recovery treatments.
Researchers have assumed that proteins are called Metabolic Glutamate Receptor 5 Alternatively, MGLUR5 can slow recovery after stroke by destroying function in brain regions from physical damage caused by stroke. If so, researchers thought that certain drugs would inhibit MGLUR5. mtepmay help patients recover from a stroke.
Scientists conducted experiments on 289 rodents induced to experience stroke. They divided the rodents into control groups. The control group was given only two experimental groups treated with MTEP, as well as non-medical components of the drug. After inducing strokes, the researchers provided rodents with a concentrated environment characterized by ladders, tubes, and other items that stimulate the brain. They explained that these enriched environments stimulated rodent activity and promoted motor skills development.
In the first experimental group, the researchers treated rodents with mTEP two days after stroke. In the second experimental group, the researchers treated rodents with mTEP 10 days after stroke. To assess the success of treatment, scientists observed rodent foot movements as they went through a series of behavioral tests. Rodents also had brain imaging, allowing scientists to assess what was happening in the brain.
Through these tests, scientists found that inhibiting MGLUR5 using MTEP helps restore brain function after stroke in both experimental groups in rodents. Scientists showed that rodents treated with MTEP began to recover the motor skills they lost due to stroke, but those in the control group showed little improvement throughout the experiment. For example, MTEP-treated rodents had 56% less missteps when walking on beams than rodents in the control group. Rodent brain images also showed that all strokes result in permanent brain damage, but only the experimental group developed new neural connectivity since.
The researchers suggested that pairing MTEP treatment with enrichment environments, such as those already used in cognitive and physical therapy, can help people who lose motor skills after a stroke. They said that if researchers saw similar success in human trials, this could be the first long-term pharmacological treatment for stroke patients.
Researchers warned that the treatment would not reverse the physical damage to the brain caused by stroke. However, treatments that restore athletic ability are a step towards curing a stroke victim. They suggested that scientists who continue to investigate similar treatments might find a way to reverse brain damage caused by stroke.
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Source: sciworthy.com