|
Blood pressure drug a boon for stroke patients
Sunday October 23, 2011 07:53:07 PM,
IANS
|
|
Washington: A commonly
prescribed blood pressure lowering medication appears to kickstart
recovery after a stroke by boosting blood vessel growth.
The discovery, based on a study using rats, occurred only because
the team, led by Susan Fagan, professor of clinical and
administrative pharmacy at the University of Georgia has opened a
new path in stroke research by examining the healthy side of the
brain after a stroke.
"I'm very excited because I think we can harness the restorative
properties of the...other side of the brain - with drug
therapies," Fagan said, the journal Public Library of Science ONE
reports.
"When most researchers study stroke they compare the animal's side
of the brain that's damaged to the opposite side, assuming that
that side is normal or not affected," said Fagan, according to a
university study.
For the study, Fagan and her team induced strokes in two groups of
male Wistar rats by blocking a major artery in the brain. A third
group, did not experience strokes so that scientists could compare
healthy brain hemispheres across all groups.
One group received a single dose of saline solution; the other
received a dose of the BP drug candesartan. The third group
received no treatment.
Animals treated with candesartan displayed higher levels of growth
factors that aid with the formation of new blood vessels in the
brain, a result that confirmed that of earlier studies from the
lab.
However, the study revealed a previously unobserved phenomenon:
Different types of growth factors dominated different hemispheres
in the brain, which suggested that candesartan could have healing
properties beyond the area of damage.
|
|
|
|
Home |
Top of the Page |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Top Stories |
|
 Spectrum of charges against Raja, 13 accused in 2G case
Ten months after his arrest, former telecom
minister A. Raja was Saturday charged for criminal
»
Tackling corruption top of government agenda: PM
'So many
zeroes...' Supreme Court raps tax department on 2G
What is
the 2G spectrum scam about?
|
|
|
|
Most Read |
|
 Saudi
crown prince dies
Crown Prince Sultan, deputy premier and minister of defense
and aviation, died Saturday outside the Kingdom following a
prolonged illness, the Royal Court »
World
leaders condole death of Prince Sultan
|
|
Gaddafi's son vows to avenge father's death
Seif al-Islam, one of the sons of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi,
has vowed to take revenge for his father's death. Gaddafi was
killed Thursday by the National Transitional Council (NTC)
fighters near his hometown of Sirte. Al-Islam appeared on the
»
Gaddafi was shot in the head: Autopsy
|
|
|
|
News Pick |
|
 Outside AIIMS canteen, Shehnaz lies waiting
for death
Surrounded
by hundreds of stretchers and anxious patients outside the
bustling OPD canteen of the All India Institute of Medical
Sciences
»
|
|
Kejriwal siphoned funds for private trust: Agnivesh
Team Anna
member Arvind Kejriwal had siphoned Rs.70-80 lakh belonging to
India Against Corruption (IAC), headed by Anna Hazare, and
diverted the money to his private trust, alleges activist Swami
Agnivesh »
|
|
Will Meira Kumar be Congress' surprise choice?
Does the Congress have an ace up its
sleeve? If Mayawati's surmise is to be believed, the Grand Old
Party is planning to announce the nomination of a Dalit prime
minister just before next year's assembly elections in
»
|
|
|
|
Picture of the Day |
|
 |
|
Girl students of a local school
displaying the post cards posted to the AMU VC appealing him
to speed up the process for the establishment of AMU centre in
Malegaon
(Photo:
ummid.com) |
|
|
|
|
Comments
|
Quick links