Bentsen Stroke Center Awards Grants for Regenerative Medicine Research

Newswise Every year, approximately 795,000 people in the United States suffer a stroke and the late U.S. Senator and Democratic Party vice presidential candidate Lloyd Bentsen was one of them. As the senator and his wife, B. A., dealt with the challenges of stroke, they developed the idea for a stroke research center.

The couples efforts led to the 2009 opening of the Senator Lloyd and B.A. Bentsen Center for Stroke Research at The Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases (IMM), a part of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). Sen. Bentsen died prior to the centers opening.

In April at the IMM, B.A. Bentsen and one of the couples sons, Lan, got updates on six projects funded by the stroke center. The center was launched with a generous gift from the Bentsen family and the center distributes up to $1 million annually for research.

The primary focus of the Bentsen Stroke Center is to develop cell-based therapeutics, including the use of certain populations of stem cells, to reduce secondary brain injury and enhance recovery, said Brian R. Davis, Ph.D., interim director of Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine at the IMM, which is the academic and administrative home of the Bentsen Stroke Center. Davis is the Annie and Bob Graham Distinguished Chair in Stem Cell Biology at UTHealth.

In 2011 and 2012, Bentsen Stroke Center grants were awarded to UTHealth Medical School faculty members Jaroslaw Aronowski, Ph.D., Qi Lin Cao, Ph.D., Charles Cox Jr., M.D., Pramod Dash, Ph.D., Ying Liu, M.D., Ph.D., Sean Savitz, M.D. and Jiaqian Wu, Ph.D. They are the principal investigators for the studies.

Lessen injury progression

When a blood vessel in the brain ruptures, pooling blood accumulates in brain matter and can cause additional if not more serious problems. Aronowski, professor of neurology and director of cerebrovascular (stroke) research, is exploring a natural way to speed up blood cleanup to prevent further brain injury.

This cleanup is normally done by specialized cells called phagocytes. Unfortunately, this process takes weeks, thus allowing blood, which is now outside of the vessel to continue to damage the brain. Aronowski proposes to speed up the process by modifying the phagocytes. We identified components of machinery phagocytes used to scavenge and clean up blood debris. Now, we will isolate them from blood, modify their function and reinject them back to see if they do a better cleanup job, Aronowski said. He plans to conduct a preclinical trial.

Replace damaged nerve cells

When a person suffers a stroke, nerve cells or neurons can begin to die. Regenerative medicine researchers would like to create replacement cells. Cao, associate professor at The Vivian L. Smith Department of Neurosurgery, is conducting a preclinical study to select the best neural cell types to treat stroke.

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Bentsen Stroke Center Awards Grants for Regenerative Medicine Research