Research carried out by the University of Coimbra (UC), the University of the Interior of Beira (UBI) and Stemlab will receive 150 thousand euros to create a treatment for ischemic cerebrovascular accidents (CVA) using stem cells.
“The team intends to find new answers to limitations in access to treatment for this health problem,” the University of California said in a press release sent this Thursday to Lusa.
The project entitled “REPAIR – repair and recovery in ischemic stroke: new strategies for cell therapy” is supported by the “la Caixa” Foundation through the “Promove” competition, carried out in collaboration with the BPI and in partnership with the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT).
The research work will last for three years, combining efforts from academia and industry to use cell therapy and model it by exposure to a hypoxic atmosphere, that is, oxygen levels lower than those typically used in laboratory testing conditions, explained a researcher from the Center for Neuroscience and Cellular Sciences. Biology University of California (CNC-UC), Bruno Manadas.
An ischemic stroke occurs when blood flow to the brain is reduced or interrupted, affecting brain cells that no longer function normally due to lack of oxygen and nutrients.
This new treatment, developed by the REPAIR team, involves injecting mesenchymal stem cells from the umbilical cord or their secretome into the post-acute phase of ischemic stroke, that is, the phase following the critical period when treatment.
According to UC, these approaches have revealed enormous therapeutic potential for several serious diseases in preclinical models.
In the case of ischemic stroke, they may be crucial for “paracrine modulation of inflammatory processes and neuroprotection, essential elements for reducing disability and accelerating the process of functional recovery,” Bruno Manadas emphasized.
The REPAIR project team also includes CNC-UC researcher and professor at the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of California Carlos Duarte, professor and researcher at UBI Graça Baltazar and R&D officer at Crioestaminal Carla Cardoso.
This work also includes the collaboration of Ignacio Lisasoain, director of the Department of Neurovascular Research at the Complutense University of Madrid.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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