Scientists looking for medicines to help recover from stroke can find the medicines they need on the bedside tables of millions of American families. Compared with the control group taking a placebo, the mice recovered faster from the stroke after treatment with a small amount of sleeping pills (hypnotics). Ambien is a typical Zolpidem drug.
Since 2011, related prescriptions have been used more than 40 million times in the United States. The researchers said the discovery was replicated by other laboratories before the clinical trial. This discovery is of great interest to difficult diseases that require treatment. Due to lack of oxygen, a stroke can block the blood supply to parts of the brain and kill body tissues. Some tissues can be repaired within a few months after a stroke, but most patients cannot recover. Although physical therapy has a certain effect, no medicine can promote the repair of brain tissue.
Gary Steinberg, a professor at Stanford University School of Medicine and the lead author of the project, said: “There are many natural ways to improve the normal recovery of animals and humans, but their effectiveness is limited.” One mechanism is through the brain The GABA neurotransmitter increases and reconnects signals. Because Ambien can affect GABA receptors, Steinberg and his team are interested in whether Ambien's mechanism can be used to improve patient recovery. The researchers introduced two stroke models to mice. The first mode impairs perception, and the second mode impairs athletic performance. Compared with mice taking placebo, mice taking Ambient (dose small enough to make them fall asleep) had tape on their feet to move faster. Steinberg said more animal experiments are needed to determine the optimal dose and timing of administration.
In fact, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved human clinical trials soon. "We are not ready to enter the clinical trial phase, but we are planning."