Novel Therapeutic Opportunity in Stroke

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability in the USA, yet widely effective treatments remain elusive and, except for a lengthy program of rehabilitation, no effective treatment for cerebral ischemic stroke is available. Therefore, there s a critical need in new therapeutic approaches which can maximally preserve ischemic penumbra and facilitate functional recovery. In the last two decades substantial efforts have been invested in developing anti-stroke medicine,but these efforts have not resulted in clinically-efficacious therapies for stroke. These failures highlight the need for development of new therapeutic ideas and approaches for prevention of neuronal injury secondary to ischemia and stroke. Among possible strategies, effective post-stroke treatments with broad therapeutic windows are likely to be the most valuable because of the unexpected nature of stroke. The existing literature and preliminary data presented indicate that activation of 7 nicotinic