Proteins Offer Treatment Against Stroke

Ischemic stroke and its related damage can be treated effectively by a family of naturally occurring proteins that dampens inflammation in the body as per a preclinical trial at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation. These proteins called inter-alpha inhibitor proteins (IAIP) are produced largely in the liver. They are found in high concentrations in the plasma and have a broad anti-inflammatory activity.

Ischemic stroke is the most commonly occurring stroke (80% to 85%) that is primarily caused due to a blockage in an artery that supplies blood to the brain. Stroke is the fifth-leading cause of mortality and long-term adult disability in the U.S. strokes.

Role of Proteins

The study found that the naturally occurring levels of IAIP dropped in mice and humans after stroke. Moreover, administration of supplemental purified IAIP in mice immediately (4.5 hours) after the onset of ischemic stroke showed the reduced size of the damaged area along with limited brain swelling.

The recovery was also seen on treating the mice from six hours to nine days after stroke (extended delayed treatment). The result was more beneficial when IAIP was used in combination with tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA – FDA approved treatment of acute ischemic strokes).

“By extensively testing for neuroprotective role of IAIPs in stroke, we found that IAIPs offer remarkable neuroprotection and could potentially represent an important, novel treatment for ischemic stroke,” says Venugopal Reddy Venna, Ph.D., senior author of the report and an assistant professor in the Department of Neurology at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth.

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Source-Medindia