Strokes typically occur when a region of the brain is deprived of an adequate supply of blood. Now, findings from an animal study suggest that much of the ensuing damage can be avoided by treatment with a drug called darbepoetin-alfa.

In various animal studies, erythropoietin, a blood-forming hormone in the body, has been shown to protect nerves from damage, according to the report in the medical journal Stroke. Because darbepoetin-alfa activates the same cell receptor, it was thought that it might also protect the brain.

Dr. Ludmila Belayev, from the University of Miami School of Medicine, and colleagues investigated the effects of darbepoetin-alfa in rats with an experimentally induced stroke.

Within just 1 hour of treatment, darbepoetin-treated animals showed significant improvements in neurologic function compared with untreated animals, the authors report, and the improvement was sustained throughout the 14-day survival period.

Rats treated with darbepoetin-alfa had significantly less dead brain tissue, the investigators point out.

“Our results clearly demonstrate that this treatment improves outcome as measured by neurological score” and by the amount of dead tissue, the investigators conclude.

“Many of the promising new drugs are designed to block only one specific event” in brains experiencing a stroke, Belayev told Reuters Health. By contrast, darbepoetin and erythropoietin seem to target several events.

SOURCE: Stroke, May 2005.