The brain may be able to protect itself from the damage caused by a stroke, according to new research.
The team from Oxford University have revealed that an inbuilt biological mechanism called “endogenous neuroprotection” and identified for the first time, keeps the brain cells alive and helps the brain protect itself against further damage when a stroke occurs.
Their findings could help bring changes in the treatment of patients who have suffered a stroke and also offers a potential breakthrough in preventing neurodegenerative diseases.
Reporting in the journal Nature Medicine, the study unveils the discovery of the brain’s in-built form of neuroprotection, calling it endogenous protection. They turned back the clock to make their discovery, using research first published in 1926 that showed the neurons in the part of the brain that controls memory, can survive without oxygen while others in other parts of the hippocampus perish when denied oxygen.
When a person suffers a stroke, the blood supply to part of the brain is cut off, depriving brain cells of oxygen and nutrients. Those cells begin to die unless the stroke victim is treated quickly. Usually this involves a brain scan in hospital and drug treatment to get the blood flow restarted. The quicker this can happen, the less damage there is likely to be to the brain cells.
The Oxford team used rats to examine and understand how cells die when denied oxygen and glucose. What they discovered is that a specific protein called hamartin keeps those cells starved of oxygen and glucose alive. Hamartin isn’t present in the other areas of the hippocampus so stimulating production of hamartin can provide more protection for the brains cells.
Their findings pave the way for potential drug developments that could mimic the effects of hamartin and so offer stroke victims greater protection from brain cell damage.
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