Laboratory rats react well to an experimental anti-stroke vaccine

Researchers at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, a division of the National Institutes of Health, recently concluded a test study showing that they may be on the right track developing an anti-stroke vaccine. Doctors performed a study of a vaccine they call E-selectin, the active ingredient being a protein that normally causes inflammation in cells lining the walls of blood vessels, but seems, actually, to spur the body into protecting itself from some of the main causes of stroke.

Administering of various dosages to 113 genetically stroke-inclined rats in various treatment cycles showed profound differences in the stroke rates of the subjects. The study was performed with administration of a nasal spray form of E-selectin two groups of rats, one group receiving treatment every two days for 10 days, the other group receiving the same treatment schedule repeatedly every three weeks for more than a year of study.

Researchers also administered two control substances to several groups on similar treatment schedules. The results showed that those rats with repeated treatments of E-selectin had 16 times fewer strokes caused by blood vessel obstruction than those on the control treatment and had no occurrences of stroke caused by the bursting of blood vessels.

In those rats that had undergone repeated treatment and still had suffered strokes, brain damage due to those strokes was significantly less than that occurring in those without the repeated treatment, though those rats without repeated treatment did not experience a significantly lower occurrence rate of stroke.

The protein, normally causing the cells in blood vessel walls to dilate, is detected by the body's lymphocytes and causes them to initiate repair and release substances to counteract the inflammation, also minimizing the likeliness of strokes due to similar effects on blood vessels.

Dr. John Hallenbeck, senior author of the report, says that the next step of research will be a Phase one clinical trial, allowing the testing of the vaccine on humans with a high risk for stroke. Plans are also intended for tests on the bovine equivalent of the protein, which Hallenbeck believes may produce a stronger response.