Scientists at the Laboratory for Neuroprotection run by the RASA Center at the Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU) in partnership with colleagues from the Center for Cardiovascular Research and the Department of Cardiology, Massachusetts General Hospital (Harvard Medical School, U.S.) are looking into a new compound that is believed to be able to protect the human brain against ischemic stroke. Researchers from the University of Montana and colleagues from other Russian universities are also participating, the TPU website .

Ischemia is a lack of oxygen associated with partial or complete blockage of blood vessels, which reduces their capacity. The main danger of ischemia is that it leads to oxygen starvation in certain organs and tissues. Thus, the lack of oxygen in the brain is called cerebral ischemia. The longer period elapses before cerebral blood flow (reperfusion) is restored, the more severe the consequences of ischemia are. In the worst case, it leads to stroke.

The international team is reported to have synthesized a novel compound to protect the brain from the consequences of ischemic and reperfusion injury. The injection of this compound facilitates the release of nitric oxide which helps control vascular tone and regulate blood circulation and pressure in our body, TPU pointed out.

“We discovered that mice that had received a therapeutic dose of the substance were then found to have their neurologic disorders and the sizes of necrosis in the affected areas of the brain reduced within 48 hours after ischemia-reperfusion—as compared to mice that had not received the “treatment,” said Dmitry Atochin, the head of the TPU Laboratory of Neuroprotection and a researcher at the Cardiovascular Research Center, the Cardiology Division, Massachusetts General Hospital (Harvard Medical School).

The scientists believe that the new substance will not only prevent consequences of ischemia and stroke but also help reduce the risks of their occurrence in patients with vascular diseases.

The results of the international, cross-disciplinary research in Neuroscience Letters (IF 2,03).

The TPU RASA Center is a joint project between the Siberian university and the international Russian-speaking Academic Science Association (RASA).