Strokes are a leading cause of
death and long term disability in the US. With the failure of more than 1,000
experimental neuroprotective drugs, one scientist has stopped trying to
discover the next new stroke treatment, and instead is trying to prevent strokes
from happening in the first place. Dr Cameron Rink thinks he may have found the
answer in a little known member of the vitamin E family, which appears to
remodel the brain’s circulatory system and provide protection the instant a
stroke strikes.
During a stroke part of the brain
is not getting blood or oxygen and the cells are dying. There’s not much we can
do for a patient at this point and that’s frustrating,” says Rink, a professor
of surgery at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.
The blood vessel
"redirect" is the result of 10 weeks' worth of supplementation with a
little-known type of vitamin E called tocotrienol. Tocotrienol appears to
stimulate arteriogenesis -- or the remodeling of existing blood vessels that
can instantaneously expand in response to a demand for oxygen-rich blood. This
collateral blood supply can make a major difference in stroke outcomes.
Tocotrienol, found naturally in
palm oil, is a vitamin E variant and currently available in stores as an oral
nutritional supplement. Because it doesn't appear to interfere with other
stroke therapies like blood thinners, or have any other side effects, Rink
thinks that the vitamin could someday become a common stroke prevention
strategy, much like low-dose aspirin is currently recommended for cardiac
patients.
