New injectable treatment helps the brain rebuild after stroke

Duke researchers developed an injectable scaffold that helped stroke-damaged brains grow new blood vessels, support nerve regrowth, and recover movement in mice. The treatment appears to work partly by recruiting the body’s own immune cells, including neutrophils that may switch from damaging to helpful under the right conditions. New injectable treatment helps the brain rebuild after stroke.

In experiments with mice, the material transformed the cavity created by lost brain tissue into a more favorable environment for healing. The treatment recruited the body’s own immune cells, encouraged the formation of new blood vessels, supported changes in neural tissue, and improved motor function in the animals. The findings were published in Cell Biomaterials.

The Challenge of Repairing Brain Tissue After Stroke Millions of people experience ischemic strokes each year. These strokes occur when a blood clot blocks blood flow to part of the brain. Emergency treatments such as clot-dissolving drugs and procedures that physically remove the clot can restore circulation and help save brain tissue that is still viable.