New findings indicate that a previously thought harmful inflammation in the brain after a stroke might actually support self-healing. Photo: MostPhotos Published: 15/04/2016
After a stroke, there is inflammation in the damaged part of the brain. Until now, the inflammation has been seen as a negative consequence that needs to be abolished as soon as possible. But, as it turns out, there are also some positive sides to the inflammation, and it can actually help the brain to self-repair. “This is in total contrast to our previous beliefs,” says Professor Zaal Kokaia from Lund University in Sweden. It may lead to new ways of treating stroke in the future.
When stroke occurs, the nerve cells in the damaged area of the brain die, causing an inflammation that attracts cells from the immune system. Among them you find monocytes which travel to the inflamed area, and here they develop into macrophages that clear out any dead tissue. But this is not all that they do: they also secrete substances that help the brain repair the damage. Most stroke patients recover at least partly over time. The Lund researchers now believe that the improvement is partly due to the substances released by the immune cells.
In animal model of stroke they ablated monocytes from the blood. Mice with decreased number of circulating monocytes were much less successful in their recovery from stroke vs normal controls.
Instead of just anticoagulation, a future treatment method could promote self-healing which could be implemented later. This treatment could start at some point within the first few weeks, rather than within the first few hours after a stroke.
The Lund researchers have focused on what happens in the brain during this later stage. They were the first to show that, after a stroke, the brain produces new nerve cells from its own stem cells. They now want to proceed with animal experiments to see if the self-healing can be improved by adding more monocytes to the brain, or by stimulating the production of monocytes in bone marrow.The Lund research group’s collaborators from Israel have obtained similar results in cases of spinal cord injury. http://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/immune-cells-can-help-the-brain-to-self-heal-after-a-stroke
Recent Comments