A study has given new hope that an experimental treatment could help stroke survivors recover function even when administered days after their stroke.
In a mice study, the complement peptide C3a was administered via nasal drops, which led to significant improvements in their motor function.
The treatment was administered seven days after stroke, giving new hope that survivors could benefit from interventions later into their recovery, even if they do not have an initial thrombolysis or thrombectomy.
MRI helped to illustrate the impact of the C3a peptide treatment, with increased formation of new connections among nerve cells seen in the mouse brains.
The multi-centre study was led by the Universities of Gothenburg and Cologne, in collaboration with the Czech Academy of Sciences.
Despite advances in emergency care, the most common form of stroke, ischemic stroke, is still a major cause of long-term disability, including impaired speech and mobility.
This new study could give hope for motor recovery even if the opportunity for urgent intervention after stroke is missed.
“With this method, there’s no need to race against the clock,” says Marcela Pekna, Professor of Neuroimmunology at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, who led the study.
“If the treatment is used in clinical practice, all stroke patients could receive it, even those who arrive at the hospital too late for thrombolysis or thrombectomy.
“Those who have remaining disability after the clot is removed could improve with this treatment too.”
Milos Pekny, Professor at the Department of Clinical Neuroscience at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, adds: “There is great potential for substantial improvement even at a later stage.
“Since the molecule was administered in nasal drops, the treatment could be given at home by relatives or the patients themselves,”
Timing is also of importance when it comes to the C3a peptide treatment. If the molecule is given too soon, it might increase the amount of inflammatory cells in the brain.
The study also shows that the positive outcomes in experimental animals persist long after the treatment is discontinued.
“The good effect remains, and that is important,” says Prof Pekna.
“It means that this is real. And we know more about how the C3a peptide works.
“Our ambition is to develop the method to make it usable in clinical practice, but to get there, and especially to be able to carry out the necessary clinical trials, we need to team up with a partner in the pharmaceutical industry.”
