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Project

IGF-I and mild hypothermia as new therapies for focal cerebral ischemia (FWOAL621)

Project summary in layman's terms

Ischemic stroke is the most common cause of disability in adults and the 3rd cause of death. It is brought about by a blocked blood vessel in the brain leading to neuronal death. Restoration of circulation via resolution of the blood clot in the vessel by treatment with tissue-type plasminogen activator is the only approved treatment. However, the majority of patients cannot be treated this way. In these patients, restoration of blood supply usually takes much longer and new treatments are needed in order to protect neurons before restoration of circulation.
We found that subcutaneous injection of insulin-like growth factor-I protects neurons but not to that extent that the clinical outcome is improved. Since transport of drugs from blood into the infarct region is a general problem in treating brain trauma and disorders we aim to develop new methods to increase transport of IGF-I from blood to the infarct region. In the second part of the project, we will further develop a treatment that circumvents the problem of drug transport to the brain, which is the application of mild body cooling. We aim to improve this method and investigate the working mechanism which could lead to new targets for therapy.
Date:1 Jan 2012 →  31 Dec 2015
Keywords:Gerontology
Disciplines:Basic sciences