Author: Evan Fleischer / Source: Big Think
- Scientists have observed genes responsible for helping mice recover from strokes.
- This could provide guidance for humans.
- Drugs could be developed to target these specific genes.
Scientists at Stanford Medicine recently observed that some mice recovered from strokes better than others, leading them to wonder whether or not they could find evidence that specific genes played a role in recovery.
They did.The results of the study — which can be read here — describes thirty-three male mice with strokes and seven mice without strokes being charged with balancing on a “horizontal rotating beam” — running out across and back. After the stroke, the mice couldn’t do this. Two weeks after the stroke, 25% of the mice were able to recover well enough to run across the length of the beam and back.
Previous research into stroke recovery in mice has noted that sensory deprivation has pushed its brain in a more healthy direction if its whiskers were trimmed; blocking an immune response aids stroke recovery; Ambien can aid in recovery; there’s research that talks about a rich, playful environment aiding in a mouse’s recovery, which is featured in the video below; and even a grape-rich diet can help improve stroke recovery in mice.
Why look at genetic recovery in mice? “Understanding the genes regulated post-stroke could help us design novel ways to treat patients in the days and weeks after the initial event,”
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