A new drug promotes the repair of the nervous system after a stroke

by time news

New research from the University of Cincinnati promises a treatment to repair the damage caused by strokes. Details are published in the journal Cell Reports.

Currently, there are no approved medications to repair the damage caused by a stroke. The study found that an experimental drug called NVG-291-R it allows for nervous system repair and significant functional recovery, at least that is what has been seen in an animal model of severe ischemic stroke.

“We are very excited about the data because it shows significant improvement in motor function, sensory function, spatial learning and memory,” he said. Agnes (Yu) LuoPhD, an associate professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry at the UC School of Medicine and the lead author of the study.

Luo said the drug would be a “substantial advance “if the first results are translated into clinical settings. Further studies and validation of results from independent groups will be needed to determine whether the drug is equally effective in repairing damage from ischemic strokes in human patients.

“Most of the therapies currently being investigated are primarily focused on reducing the early damage of stroke,” Luo said. “However, our group has focused on neurorepair as an alternative and has now shown that treatment with NVG-291-R not only produces neuroprotection to reduce neuronal death, but also robust neuroreparative effects.”

The study also found that the drug was effective even seven days later of stroke onset. “The only current drug approved by the FDA, the US drug agency, for the treatment of stroke does not repair damage and must be given within 4.5 hours of stroke onset,” Luo said.

“Most of the therapies that are being investigated need to be applied within 24 to 48 hours after the onset of a stroke. A product that works to repair damage caused by stroke even a week after symptom onset would change the paradigm for stroke treatment.”

Jerry SilverPhD, a study co-author and a professor of neuroscience at the CWRU School of Medicine, said the study showed the drug repaired damage through at least two pathways: by creating new neural connections y enhancing neuron migration newborn stem-derived cells.

“The ability of NVG-291-R to enhance plasticity was demonstrated by using staining techniques that clearly showed a increase in axonal sprouting in the damaged part of the brainSilver said. »This enhanced plasticity is an excellent validation of the same powerful mechanisms that we and other researchers were able to demonstrate using NVG-291-R in spinal cord injuries«.

NervGen Pharma Corp. owns the exclusive worldwide rights to NVG-291, and the drug is also currently being tested in a Phase 1 clinical trial in healthy human subjects. NervGen plans to start safety and efficacy trials in patients with spinal cord injuries, Alzheimer’s disease, and multiple sclerosis in 2022 and 2023.

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