The groundbreaking new drug that could almost totally reverse paralysis caused by stokes
A drug that eases the paralysis caused by strokes is being developed by scientists.
Even small changes in the ability to eat, dress or walk unaided could improve quality of life for hundreds of thousands of patients left disabled by strokes - and their carers.
In tests, the drug restored up to 99 per cent of lost movement, even when given a long time after the stroke occurred.
Groundbreaking: The new drug could transform the lives of hundreds of thousands of patients left disabled by strokes (posed by model)
The experiments were on rats but the researchers believe the drug, which triggers the growth of new brain cells, also offers hope to humans.
Some 150,000 Britons have strokes - or a disruption of the blood supply to the brain - each year and more than 300,000 are living with strokerelated disabilities, such as muscle weakness.
Researcher Professor James Fallon, from the University of California, said it was a 'remarkable finding and worth trying in humans'.
The drug is based on a protein called transforming growth factor alpha which plays a role in tissue formation. Rats given it a month after having a stroke regained nearly all motor functions inside four weeks, the journal Neuroscience reports.
A drug that eases the paralysis caused by strokes is being developed by scientists.
Even small changes in the ability to eat, dress or walk unaided could improve quality of life for hundreds of thousands of patients left disabled by strokes - and their carers.
In tests, the drug restored up to 99 per cent of lost movement, even when given a long time after the stroke occurred.
Groundbreaking: The new drug could transform the lives of hundreds of thousands of patients left disabled by strokes (posed by model)The experiments were on rats but the researchers believe the drug, which triggers the growth of new brain cells, also offers hope to humans.
Some 150,000 Britons have strokes - or a disruption of the blood supply to the brain - each year and more than 300,000 are living with strokerelated disabilities, such as muscle weakness.
Researcher Professor James Fallon, from the University of California, said it was a 'remarkable finding and worth trying in humans'.
The drug is based on a protein called transforming growth factor alpha which plays a role in tissue formation. Rats given it a month after having a stroke regained nearly all motor functions inside four weeks, the journal Neuroscience reports.
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