DALLAS, – In an animal study, researchers demonstrated that new blood vessels can grow in the area of the brain damaged after a minor stroke, according to a study in the September issue of Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Researchers caused small strokes in the cortex region of laboratory rats by cutting off the blood supply to an area of the brain. After 30 days, researchers found that blood vessels in the region of the reduced blood flow were significantly longer and wider, and that blood flow was partially restored. Specifically, internal diameters had doubled. In rats that did not have blood flow cut, there was no change in internal diameters.
These enlarged pre-existing vessels – called collateral vessels – provided blood flow to blocked artery segments that suffered reduced flow after stroke. This indicates that the brain created new collateral blood flow pathways.
Collateral vessels not only feed areas deprived of their normal blood supply, but also may exhibit increased flow as they supply new capillaries (tiny blood vessels), researchers say.
With this new understanding, researchers say they hope to reduce the damage caused by stroke and to improve chances for long-term functional recovery. They are now assessing the functional changes of the brain in and around the stroke region.
The work was funded in part by the National Institutes of Health.
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