A new drug has been shown to break down drug-resistant blood clots in the brains of mice, opening the door to safer and more effective stroke treatment.
The enzyme caADAMTS13 has been developed and patented by researchers at the University of Manchester.
The drug may also have a beneficial effect on the immune response triggered by ischemic stroke.
Study co-author Craig Smith, Professor of Stroke Medicine at The University of Manchester and Consultant in stroke medicine at Manchester Centre for Clinical Neurosciences, Northern Care Alliance NHS Group said:
“A stroke strikes every five minutes in the UK and can happen at any time at any age.
“Its effects can be life changing but as of yet, clot-busting treatment needs to be more effective and safer for patients.
“The caADAMTS13 variant has exciting potential and could – if proven effective- lead to many more patients recovering after a stroke caused by a blocked artery.”
Alteplase or tPA is currently the only clot-busting drug approved for the treatment of this type of stroke.
However, while it is affective for many patients, it cannot break down the 50 per cent of clots rich in protein molecule Von Willebrand Factor (VWF).
The drug developed by the Manchester researchers specifically targets the VWF.
They compared caADAMTS13 the wildtype variant of the enzyme wtADAMTS13 that occurs naturally in the body.
When taken one hour after a stroke, caADAMTS13 was more effective at breaking down the VWF, reducing levels of the protein five times faster than wtADAMTS13.
The drug also prevented neutrophils from entering brain tissue that had been starved of oxygen.
This process is thought to damage brain cells and lead to permanent brain damage or death.
Professor Metin Avkiran, Associate Medical Director of the British Heart Foundation who funded the study, said:
“The majority of strokes, which can have such devastating consequences, are caused by a blood clot cutting off blood supply to part of the brain.
“With over 100,000 strokes in the UK each year, new treatments are sorely needed to improve outcomes for patients.
“These promising findings suggest that drugs that target Von Willebrand Factor (VWF) have the potential to safely and effectively dissolve blood clots that resist currently available therapies.
“More research will be needed to understand whether these results in mice can be replicated in humans, and whether this can help to improve survival and recovery for stroke patients.”
