Dr. Gregory Bix, Paul G. Blazer J. Professor of Stroke Research in the University of Kentucky Sanders-Brown Center on Aging and the UK departments of Anatomy and Neurobiology and Neurology, has received funding of $224,416 from the National Institutes of Health, to further study of stroke recovery.
Stroke is a leading cause of death in the U.S. and worldwide. Existing FDA-approved pharmaceutical therapies for stroke rely upon administration within a very tight timeframe, and engender other risks. Dr. Bix is working to investigate how the brain's own neuroprotective abilities may be employed to activate post-stroke repair mechanisms in the brain itself.
"This research grant provides the financial support for us to explore promising new approaches to cure stroke through unlocking the brain's regenerative potential. Successful completion of this basic research will bring us that much closer to hopefully successful human clinical trials for stroke sufferers, something that has otherwise been an elusive goal" said Bix.
The new funding from the NIH will enable Bix and his team to investigate the effects of a newly identified stroke treatment on brain tissue regeneration, to investigate factors influencing generation and survival of post-stroke generated neurons, and to investigate novel mechanisms in neuritogenesis and neurite extension. The ultimate aim of this work is to develop a novel stroke therapy for humans.
Simple blood test could allow doctors to determine a person’s risk for stroke or cognitive decline