Anyone who has seen a loved one go through it can tell you; a stroke is a life changing event for everyone in the family. Watching a loved one struggle with things like getting around the house, speaking their thoughts, and other activities that we tend to take for granted is not easy. Helping them out with these things can be equally hard, although in a different way.
This is why our understanding of what a stroke is and how to better help those that have had one is so important. Luckily, this is something that researchers and doctors have been working on for quite a while.
One of the latest developments when it comes to the study of stroke helps us to better understand what happens to the brain and how it cleans itself after a stroke occurs. This builds upon previous knowledge and has the potential to help researchers better target treatment for those that have suffered a stroke. This might be a step toward more effective treatment and better outcomes for those that are in recovery from a stroke.
Researchers used mice to help learn a little bit more about just what happens in the brain after a stroke occurs, and then looked at treatments to help alleviate symptoms. They looked at a specific cell receptor in the brain called CD300a, and it’s role in helping to clean the brain. After a stroke was induced, they found that mice who were deficient in this cell receptor tended to have severe symptoms. Once treatment involving increased levels of CD300a was given, some of these symptoms were reduced.
CD300a is a key component for a process known as efferocytosis. Essentially, this is the brain’s process of cleaning itself. The hope is that by understanding how the brain attempts to clean itself after a stroke, doctors can target treatment to help reduce the negative symptoms that occur in people after a stroke takes place.
This research was conducted by a team based out of Japan at the University of Tsukuba. They recently published their findings in the journal, Science Immunology.
The brain must clean itself on a regular process in order to stay effective. This is part of what sleep is for. Some have hypothesized that dreams are a byproduct of this, when neurotransmitters wash through the brain during deep sleep, they provoke the unrealistic thoughts and visions that we have come to be familiar with as dreams. When this process is interrupted, our thoughts become fuzzy, we get confused easily, and we just don’t feel good.
Effective help for someone that has had a stroke is absolutely necessary. This might mean family members doing more around the house to help out, but not every person has a family or friend network that can help with this. Sometimes needs are too severe after a stroke and more intensive help is needed. This is especially true for seniors that live alone or have more serious strokes occur.
The right senior care can help you to resolve such a situation. Feel free to give us a call if you’d like to learn more about how the right care can help those who have had a stroke.
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