Every little bit helps. If only the US had initiative like New Zealand.
http://www.odt.co.nz/campus/university-otago/213621/swiss-company-roche-support-stroke-research
University of Otago research, which could eventually boost
recovery from strokes, has taken a "huge step forward"
through the support of a giant Swiss-based pharmaceutical
company, researchers say.
Otago University representatives have signed a contract with
Swiss-based firm Roche Pharmaceuticals, and the firm was
expected to complete the deal's formalities in a matter of
days, researcher Dr Andrew Clarkson said.
"It's a huge step forward in moving it [the potential drug
treatment] . . . to the clinic," he said in an interview.
Dr Clarkson, an award-winning research fellow in the Otago
departments of psychology and anatomy and structural biology,
has been undertaking research that aims to boost recovery
from strokes by restoring contact with "silent brain cells".
Some brain cells are killed in strokes, but recent research
suggests that some nearby cells previously thought to have
also been killed are, in fact, merely "silent".
These cells could potentially be reactivated, helping boost
functional recovery.
Physical therapy is often used after strokes, with patients
embarking on a "long, hard process" in order to regain some
normal limb function.
In a recent study involving mice, published in Nature,
Dr Clarkson and colleagues at the University of California
found that a drug compound, part of a class of drugs known as
"extrasynaptic GABA inverse agonists", could unlock paralysed
limbs, with an extra 50% of gross limb motor mobility gained.
But initially, available forms of the drug had needed some
further development work to avoid known side effects in the
kidneys.
Gaining the backing of the Swiss firm was highly significant,
and the firm would be making available for testing a compound
which avoided the side effects, researchers said.
Over the next 18 months, Otago researchers would press ahead
with further animal-based studies, helping to pave the way
for future clinical trials in humans.
Previous clinical trialling of the latest compound,
undertaken for other medical applications, meant that more
advanced clinical trials could eventually be undertaken much
earlier than with a completely new drug, he said.
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