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MONDAY, Sept. 24 (HealthScoutNews) -- Doctors hoping for a new weapon to add to the limited arsenal available to treat ischemic stroke may be in luck. New research in mice suggests that an antioxidant compound called dehydroascorbic acid -- the precursor to vitamin C -- can cross the critical barrier between the bloodstream and the brain and reduce the damage caused when a blood clot plugs an artery, halting blood flow to a part of the brain. The findings appear in the Sept. 25 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Text Continues Below
Every year, approximately 750,000 Americans suffer a stroke, and almost 160,000 of those attacks are fatal. Ischemic strokes make up about 83 percent of all stroke cases. There is only one existing therapy available for patients who have suffered an ischemic stroke. But the therapy, called tissue plasminogen activator (or tPA), can be given only after brain imaging scans confirm a stroke. In addition, tPA can sometimes cause bleeding in the brain that actually worsens the patient's condition. When the blood supply is cut off to brain tissues during an ischemic stroke, restoring blood flow quickly is critical. But paradoxically, the return of oxygenated blood triggers an inflammatory response that can kill partially damaged cells. One of the factors that play a role in this inflammation is the release of harmful free radicals by the body's immune cells. Antioxidants, like vitamin C, are thought to control the production of free radicals. But vitamin C cannot cross the blood-brain barrier that normally protects the brain from harmful compounds. Now researchers at Columbia University have shown that dehydroascorbic acid (DHA), the oxidized form of vitamin C, can cross the blood-brain barrier in an mouse model of ischemic stroke. Once it crosses the blood-brain barrier, the DHA is converted to vitamin C. Moreover, mice treated with DHA appear to be better protected from the brain damage caused by stroke. Page: 1 | 2 | 3 | Next >>
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