Stroke-fighting Drug Offers Potential Treatment for TBI

In a new study published in the journal PLOS ONE, researchers from the Henry Ford Neuroscience Institute found that the brain’s limited ability to repair itself after trauma can be enhanced when treated with the drug tPA (tissue plasminogen activator). Commonly called a clot-buster, tPA is the only FDA-approved treatment for acute ischemic stroke. It has been known for some time that stroke damage can be reduced if tPA is given intravenously within 4.5 hours. However, tPA administration through the bloodstream also has potentially harmful side effects, including swelling of the brain and hemorrhage. More recently, researchers found that the effective treatment window could be extended to as much as two weeks for lab rats dosed with tPA in a nasal spray, while avoiding the harmful side effects of intravenous injection. Although scientists do not yet fully understand how it works, earlier research has shown that drugs administered through the nose directly target both the brain and the spinal cord. The most recent findings suggest that tPA has the potential to be a noninvasive treatment for subacute traumatic brain injury, helping the brain restore function to damaged cells. To read more about this study, click here.