New research has shown that a drug traditionally used to treat alcohol use disorder could also be used as a treatment for stroke.
The researchers believe the drug carbamathione (Carb), can treat ischaemic stroke by protecting the brain against injury and minimise the size of a brain infarct.
Jang-Yen (John) Wu of Florida Atlantic University’s Schmidt College of Medicine, has received a new patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office titled, “Treatment for Ischemic Stroke,” for his work related to Carbamathione.
Wu, says: “One of the novel aspects of using Carbamathione or Carb therapy to treat stroke is its safety.
“Carb is an active metabolite of disulfiram or DSF, which has been used to treat alcohol use disorder for more than six decades and has been found to be safe with minimum adverse effects. Once we are able to demonstrate the efficacy of Carb therapy in treating stroke, we will be able to use it on patients.”
There has been a lot of progress made in relation to the mechanism of brain injury induced by inadequate blood supply (ischaemia) and lack of oxygen (hypoxia) to the brain, which is a major pathophysiology of stroke.
However, despite extensive research to develop medicines for stroke based on the known mechanisms either as glutamate receptor antagonists, Ca2+ channel blockers, enzyme inhibitors, inhibitors of apoptotic pathways, or reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavengers, these efforts have been a disappointment.
Wu, says: “Attempts to develop medicines to treat stroke have been disappointing, partially because the underpinning mechanism of stroke-induced neuronal injury is multi-factorial and therefore needs a therapeutic intervention that addresses the multi-factorial nature of the disease.”
It is believed that excitotoxicity caused by excessive release of excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate plays an important role in ischaemia/reperfusion induced neuronal death.
Wu believes that the mode of action of Carb protecting ischaemia-induced brain injury is through its action as a glutamate receptor partial antagonist. This unique property could provide neuronal protection through its action to block excessive glutamate-induced neuronal excitation while allowing the basal glutamate neurotransmission to continue.
Wu states that a pharmaceutically formulated version of Carb could be administered as an injection to treat patients diagnosed with an ischemic stroke.
He says: “Unlike tissue plasminogen activator (TPA), which has a window of opportunity of only four hours, Carb could be administered within 24 hours of the onset of symptoms of ischemic stroke.”
Furthermore, because Carb is an active metabolite of DSF and can be used with the same efficacy in patients with or without liver problems, it could be used to treat ischaemic stroke in patients in the general population.
