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From: [log in to unmask]
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Walker, Sarah
Sent: Tuesday, June 06, 2006 14:12
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: UBC Media Release 7-June-06: UBC Researchers Find Stroke Death Channel

MEDIA RELEASE |  JUNE 7, 2006
UBC Researchers Find Stroke Death Channel

New therapies for stroke patients may soon be possible, thanks to a discovery
made by a team of University of British Columbia neuroscience researchers who
have found a new stroke death channel - the conduit through which key chemicals
are lost from brain cells during stroke, causing the cell death that disables
stroke victims. 

The findings were published recently in Science and will be the subject of an
editorial in next month's issue of Nature Reviews Neuroscience.

"We've known for 40 years about chemicals flowing out of cells after stroke, but
nobody knew the exact process - so we went looking for the death channel. And we
found it," says Roger Thompson, a UBC Psychiatry post-doctoral Fellow who made
the discovery, along with graduate student Ning Zhou and Psychiatry Prof. Brian
MacVicar, all members of the Brain Research Centre at UBC Hospital and of
Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute. 

The researchers found, in animal models, that brain cell membranes were
disrupted at the site of gap junction hemichannels. Gap junctions are
connections that allow molecules and ions to flow between cells. Junctions are
composed of two hemichannels that bridge the intercellular space.

Until now, scientists believed the disruption to occur at the site of glutamate
channels. Glutamate is one of the brain's most abundant chemical messengers.
However, therapeutic strategies targeted at glutamate channels failed to prevent
brain cell death.

"Our discovery was unexpected - we're now going to change channels and pursue a
completely different research direction," says MacVicar, Canada Research Chair
in Neuroscience. "This finding offers new possibilities for stroke therapies and
reinforces the value of investing in basic science research."

When stroke occurs, hemichannels can form outside the junction and leak
chemicals. The process drastically disrupts levels of critical brain cell
ingredients such as calcium and potassium, and is associated with rapid cell
death.

Every year, 50,000 Canadians suffer a stroke. Another 300,000 people are living
with the consequences of stroke, which is the leading cause of adult disability
in Canada. 

The next step in the investigation will be to determine the cause of the
hemichannel malfunction. Scientists can then develop a compound to block brain
cell hemichannels from opening, says MacVicar. Therapies for stroke patients may
be available within five to 10 years, he adds.

The Brain Research Centre comprises more than 150 investigators with
multidisciplinary expertise in neuroscience research ranging from the test tube,
to the bedside, to industrial spin-offs. The centre is a partnership of UBC and
Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, the research body of the health
authority. 

Support for the study has been provided by:

. The Canadian Stroke Network, one of Canada's Networks of Centres of
Excellence, that includes more than 100 of Canada's leading scientists and
clinicians from 24 universities who work collaboratively on various aspects of
stroke. 

. The Heart and Stroke Foundation, a leading funder of heart and stroke research
in Canada, that aims to improve the health of Canadians by preventing and
reducing disability and death from heart disease and stroke through research,
health promotion and advocacy.

. CIHR, the Government of Canada's agency for health research. Composed of 13
Institutes, CIHR provides leadership and support to close to 10,000 health
researchers and trainees across Canada.

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CONTACT

Hilary Thomson
UBC Public Affairs
Tel: 604.822.2644
Cell: 604.209.3048
E-mail: [log in to unmask]

mr-06-065

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