Australian scientists have discovered a promising new treatment to improve the memory of stroke survivors.
Stroke occurs every nine minutes in Australia and nearly 80 per cent of survivors will suffer cognitive impairment - impacting greatly their quality of life.
A growth hormone (GH) treatment, already used on children with growth issues, has now been shown by University of Newcastle researchers to improve learning and memory in mice affected by stroke.
The researchers are hopeful the findings of the study, published in the journal Stroke, will translate to humans.
"We are proposing that growth hormone could play a critical role in brain repair after injury. Specifically, we found that growth hormone treatment after stroke significantly improved learning and memory performance - a promising development for survivors around the world," said co-author and University of Newcastle neuroscientist Associate Professor Rohan Walker.
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Previous studies have shown GH to have beneficial effects in promoting cognition post- brain injury.
To investigate whether GH could help stroke patients, researchers evaluated its impact when administered to the mice 48 hours post-stroke for a period of 28 days.
Cognitive performance was assessed and tissue samples taken to ascertain biological changes in the brain.
"Our results show a significant improvement in learning and memory tasks after the therapy, as well as a reduction in neural tissue loss," co-author Dr Lin Kooi Ong said.
The growth hormone also promoted brain plasticity - the ability of the brain to modify its connections or re-wire itself - and increased levels of 'brain fertilisers' which promote cognitive function, Dr Ong said.
Neuroscientist and rehabilitation medicine specialist, Professor Michael Nilsson, Director of the Hunter Medical Research Institute, said the new finding was an important step in stroke rehabilitation.
"Stroke was once a leading killer in Australia, but we have made significant progress in reducing deaths as a result of stroke. Whilst this is a great achievement, our community is faced with the new challenge of treating and rehabilitating survivors, hence the importance of this work," Prof Nilsson said.
The research team hope to secure further funding to begin clinical trials.
