Brain Cleansing

Accelerator of brain recovery after stroke found

Svetlana Maslova, Hi-tech+

Experimental therapy has confirmed the effect in preclinical studies. The promising results offer hope for millions of people who have suffered a stroke.

Stroke has long ceased to be a disease of the elderly, today it is increasingly happening in people after 35 years. After a stroke, brain neurons die, and, accumulating, lead to necrosis of brain tissue. Studying the mechanisms of brain recovery after a stroke, scientists from Texas Medical Center (USA) an accelerator of this process has been discovered.

Article by Ting et al. Brain Cleanup as a Potential Target for Poststroke Recovery is published in the journal Stroke – VM.

The retinoid X-receptor turned out to be a stimulant of inflammation (RXR). Experiments with mouse models have shown that it enhances the action of phagocytic immune cells, which remove dead cells after a stroke.

Phagocyte (green) with absorbed apoptotic neurons (red).

In the first stage of the experiments, the RXR gene in immune cells was removed from mice. This contributed to a longer recovery and increased brain atrophy compared to the control group.

In another experiment, mice were given the retinoid drug bexarotene, which activated RXR. As a result, the volume of brain atrophy was reduced, and recovery accelerated.

While the results are preliminary, however, the discovery of RXR as an accelerator of recovery after stroke means the emergence of a new therapeutic target. According to the authors, the retinoid X-receptor opens up great prospects in stroke therapy. The research will continue.

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