A young Melbourne woman hopes a controversial treatment in America will reverse the side effects of her stroke.
Krystal Reynolds was aged just 16 and studying for her VCE exams when she suffered a major stroke.
She had to learn to walk and talk again.
Twelve years on, she is confident a treatment available for patients in the US could reverse her paralysis.
The drug anti-inflammatory drug, called Etanercept, approved for conditions like Rheumatoid arthritis, is being injected into a patient's necks, then into the brain.
"My cloudiness in my brain will clear and my walking will get better," Krystal told Seven News.
While the treatment is not approved for use in Australia, brain experts say they cannot rule on its effectiveness until it has been tested through clinical trials.
Neurosurgeon Professor Jeffery Rosenfeld is keeping an open mind.
"It's not impossible to think that if you use an anti-inflammatory drug, like this one, that it might modify the function of the brain by dampening down inflammation," he said.
In a statement, the Stroke Foundation said 'it is an interesting development in the treatment of stroke' and that it 'strongly supports the introduction of the new evidence based treatment'.
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US treatment hope for young stroke patient