Research
New clot-busting drug could improve stroke treatment, research suggests
A new clot-busting drug could be significantly better at treating certain types of stroke than existing therapies, according to research we’ve funded, published in the journal Stroke.
The study, led by scientists at The University of Manchester, tested a compound called caADAMTS13 in mice. The team say it could be a breakthrough for patients who have an ischaemic stroke due to a type of clot which contains high number of platelets, the tiny cell fragments that help blood to clot. Currently, these types of clots are often not treatable with existing emergency stroke therapies.
An ischaemic stroke is a type of stroke caused when an artery supplying blood to the brain is blocked by a blood clot. Without treatment, it can lead to long-term damage to the brain.
One of the emergency treatment options for people who have ischaemic stroke is a type of drug called recombinant tissue plasminogen activator(rtPA). They work by breaking up the blood clot(s) that are blocking an artery. However, research suggests they are only effective in as few as 10 to 35 per cent of patients, and they are also associated with a significant risk of bleeding.
It's thought that a protein involved in clotting called Von Willebrand Factor (VWF) may be responsible for the limited effectiveness of rtPA, as the greater the proportion of platelet and VWF components in a clot the less effective rtPA is in dissolving it.
An alternative strategy to save patients
The Manchester scientists investigated an alternative strategy using caADAMTS13, an enzyme that reduces the size of VWF and helps break down blood clots.
They compared caADAMTS13 with rtPA in mice with a blood clot rich in platelets and VWF. One hour after treatment, they found that a greater proportion of blood flow to the brain was restored in the mice treated with caADAMTS13.
Professor Bryan Williams, our Chief Scientific and Medical Officer said: "A stroke is a medical emergency. For every minute blood flow to the brain is disrupted during a stroke, millions of nerve cells can become damaged and die. Stroke remains the single biggest cause of severe disability in the UK and we urgently need new treatments.
“More research will be needed to understand how these early results in mice can be translated to humans, but this study gives us a promising glimpse into a future where the compound caADAMTS13 could potentially be developed as a new therapy to safely and effectively dissolve blood clots in the brain.”