Stroke, or lack of blood flow to the brain, is a devastating disorder that affects 4.5 million people in the United States. Stroke survivors are often left with permanent neurologic deficits, including paralysis, blindness or sensory problems, which severely impact their quality of life. To date there is no effective treatment for stroke, or restoring lost neural tissue and proper brain circuitry. The purpose of the present study is to determine if adult human bone marrow stem cell therapy in rodent stroke lesions improves functional recovery and whether this recovery can be enhanced when combined with mAb IN-1 treatment.
Aims 1 and 2 will determine if stem cell therapy following stroke enhances sensorimotor function using a battery of behavioral tests and will assess new growth of neuronal pathways using the anterograde neuroanatomical tracer biotinylated dextran amine (BDA).
Aim 3 will determine if combination therapy of mAb IN-1 and stem cell treatment further enhances sensorimotor function and new growth of neuronal pathways. The results of these studies may lead to promising new approaches to help stroke survivors regain lost functions and significantly improve their quality of life.
| Andrews, E M; Tsai, S-Y; Johnson, S C et al. (2008) Human adult bone marrow-derived somatic cell therapy results in functional recovery and axonal plasticity following stroke in the rat. Exp Neurol 211:588-92 |
