Birth of hope in treating strokes

STROKE victims could soon be given an infusion of placenta cells to help heal the brain after promising worldfirst Australian research.

Scientists have discovered their experimental therapy reduces brain injury and aids recovery — even if it is given up to three days after a stroke.

New treatments are desperately needed for one of the country’s biggest killers and the leading cause of disability in adults. In the pioneering treatment, Melbourne researchers used hundreds of millions of human amniotic cells, which are usually discarded after birth, administering them intravenously.

The La Trobe University-led research conducted on mice found the cell therapy reduced brain injury and inflammation and improved short and longterm deficits.

Human trials will start this year in Victorian patients who suffer acute strokes, offering hope of a new treatment on the horizon for brain attacks, which strike once every nine minutes in Australia.

Lead author Professor Chris Sobey said current treatments, clot-busting drugs and clot retrieval, were limited.

“Only about 10 per cent of patients receive clot-busting drugs because it has to be given within 4½ hours of the stroke occurring and requires the patient to have a CT scan to show it was caused by a clot, not a bleed,” Prof Sobey said.

Results of their seven-year study, published in the journal Stroke, provide proof-of-principle evidence that the therapy is neuroprotective.

Prof Sobey said a stroke causes an initial injury to the brain, which spreads because of the secondary effects of inflammation.

“Ideally you want to get to the injury early to stop it from spreading,” he said.

“We wanted to see if administering the cell therapy early could halt the growth of the injury and it could, which was very encouraging.”

The research team also found the cell therapy could improve survival and functional long-term recovery if given one to three days after a stroke.

“We believe they are promoting healing by migrating to the site of injury and releasing molecules that co-ordinate other cells to promote healing. They may even be helping nerves to reroute or regenerate,” Prof Sobey said.

Human amnion cells are abundant, have special properties which prevents the body rejecting them and do not grow into tumours like many forms of cell therapy, he added.

A Monash Health team will conduct a phase 1 trial in Victorians this year to assess the therapy’s safety and feasibility as an effective treatment.

WE WANTED TO SEE IF ADMINISTERING THE CELL THERAPY EARLY COULD HALT THE GROWTH OF THE INJURY AND IT COULD, WHICH WAS VERY ENCOURAGING PROFESSOR CHRIS SOBEY