Cooling Brain Plus Gene Therapy for Stroke Victims

A study has shown that lowered body temperature followed by gene therapy in mice with stroke resulted in two to three times more neurons surviving two days after the stroke. The study was published in the February 2004 issue of Stroke.

In prior experiments, researchers found that inserting a gene called Bcl-2 within 90 minutes of a stroke in rats prevented cells from following a ritualized form of cell death. However, giving the gene therapy after the initial 90-minute window had no effect. The cell-death proteins had already been released and the cells were beyond recovery. It is rare for stroke patients to receive treatment within that narrow 90-minute time frame.

In the current study, researchers decided that chilling the brains might slow the release of cell-death molecules, allowing a longer window for gene therapy to be effective. Initial results were positive. If this finding holds true in humans, then chilling the brain may give doctors more time to treat stroke patients. This longer opening may make the difference in enabling patients to retain control of their limbs or the ability to speak normally after a stroke.

"We are also pursuing hypothermia with other genes to extend the therapeutic window,” said study leader Gary Steinberg, M.D., Ph.D., professor of neurology and the neurosciences at Stanford University School of Medicine (Stanford, CA, USA). Dr. Steinberg noted that for some types of surgeries, a brain that is 4o degrees cooler than normal seems to resist injury better.




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