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Studies of living brain tissue may lead to the development of new stroke therapies

Researchers are using living brain tissue to learn more about drugs that can block the u201cwaves of deathu201d 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.

 As reported in a 2007 issue of Stroke, many stroke therapies that looked promising in animal studies failed in humans. The report outlined a course of action that included studies in human brain tissue concentrating on the penumbra area. Dr. Kirov believes that focusing on human tissue will help researchers more effectively identify those therapies that will have true clinical merit: “Human brain slices as a model system can provide a missing link between animal models and patients, and offer a unique chance to identify and study potentially useful therapeutics,” he says.

 News Release: Slices of living brain tissue are helping scientists identify new stroke therapies. January 21, 2009. 

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