New Hope for Preserving Brain Cells After Stroke

Research shows that a new drug helps to preserve brain cells for a time after stroke. University of Calgary-led international study reports promising results for neuroprotection by combining endovascular therapy with nerinetide. 

In February 2020, the University of Calgary released the results of a multi-center, double-blind randomized trial, led by a team at the Cumming School of Medicine’s Hotchkiss Brain Institute and Alberta Health Services. The study includes 50 years of research and the testing over 1,000 drugs.

Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center Torrance patients among participants

The nationally certified comprehensive stroke center at Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center Torrance participated in the trial, enrolling 16 patients, the most among hospitals in the Western states. Interventional neurologist Jason Tarpley, MD, PhD, director of the stroke and aneurysm center at Pacific Neuroscience Institute, was principal investigator for the study at the Torrance hospital. Among the first patients enrolled was Mike Patterson, a retired lifeguard, who suffered a severe stroke while swimming with friends.

Patterson arrived at the hospital paralyzed on his right side, blind in one eye and unable to speak or to understand speech. Patterson’s treatment was so effective he gave a thumbs-up moments after a clot was removed from his brain. He enthusiastically agreed to participate in the trial.

Read the full published article by the University of Calgary.