Stroke Prevention and Future Treatments Will Save Lives

December 21st 2005

There may be a health story behind Ariel Sharon’s recent stroke.  His doctors recommended Sharon start a diet and exercise program.  This may be the right approach to help prevent strokes. The meal he had just before the stroke included hamburgers, steak, lamb chops, shish kebab and two slices of chocolate cake.

Could this meal have been the reason for the stroke?  No one knows for sure, but diet can lead to various problems that can lead to a stroke.  For those that have already had a stroke it is even more important to lead a healthy lifestyle.

There is some new research that my help save lives during a stroke.  John Hopkins scientists have discovered a method to prevent brain damage during a stroke.  The brain cells die because of lack of oxygen.  The researchers have found a nerve receptor that acts as a switch killing the cells.

By studying mice they were able to demonstrate that a protein on the surface of the nerve cells, called EP1 receptors, act as a switch that turns off when a compound known as ONO-8713 turns it off.  The cell then dies.

Current treatments include COX-2 inhibitors that can be dangerous.  These drugs block the ability of the enzyme cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) to make prostaglandin E2 (PGE2).  It appears PGE2 causes brain damage following a stroke by binding to the EP1 nerve cells. 

John Hopkins researchers believe that activity blocking the PGE2 directly rather than inhibiting COX-2 may be a better treatment.   The innovations-report website reports that Sylvain Doré, Ph.D., an associate professor in the departments of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine and Neuroscience at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, said “A lot of the previous findings kept bringing us back to PGE2 and its receptors, So we investigated whether it’s possible to block the EP1 receptor so PGE2 couldn’t trigger toxic effects”. 

The mice that received the EP1 stimulator ONO-DI-004 suffered more than 28% greater brain damage than the control group.  Mice that were treated with the EP1 blocker ONO-8713 had only about 71% of the brain damage as the controls. The “ONO-8713 works specifically at that receptor” that causes the brain damage.

Let’s hope a better treatment for stroke is implemented quickly.  According to the American Academy of Family Physicians “Every year, approximately 500,000 Americans have a first stroke, and approximately 20 percent die within 30 days.” 

We recently published a similar article concerning a new possible treatment developed in Italy.  This research found that the IKK2 Protein may Prevent Brain Damage Due to Stroke.

By Dan Wilson
Best Syndication Staff Writer

Stroke Treatment Books

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