Researchers at the University of Oslo have proposed a new stroke treatment that involves injecting a protein into the blood that is believed to protect the brain from damage.
Early tests in mice have shown that if the treatment is administered within hours of a stroke, it can improve long-term outcomes.
‘It is very important to find treatment methods that can be applied immediately after a stroke. After all, for every minute lost, an even larger part of the brain is damaged,’ explains Sandeep Kanse, one of the authors of the new study.
The study focused on a protein circulating in the blood called factor VII activating protease (FSAP). This protein has long been associated with stroke, and studies show that its blood levels rise after a stroke. And people with a gene mutation that lowers FSAP levels are often at increased risk of stroke.
Therefore, the hypothesis was that FSAP protects the brain to some extent from the damaging effects of stroke and may be used for treatment.
The study found that administering FSAP to mice after a stroke significantly improved their condition. This led the researchers to the final trial, adding FSAP to standard post-stroke therapy known as TPA.
In experiments on mice, the researchers found that combining FSAP with TPA significantly improved stroke outcomes compared to giving the animal TPA alone.
Further work is needed before this new treatment can move to human trials.
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