PORTLAND, Ore. – Nearly 800,000 people have strokes every year in America. The best treatment, tPA (tissue plasminogen activator), has to be given within three hours, and doctors estimate only five percent of patients can make that window. A new treatment that is now in clinical trial could give patients precious additional time.
Now, a new stem cell treatment may vastly increase stroke victims’ chances at recovery.
Sharon Thomas is back at work like nothing was ever wrong. But four years ago, she had a stroke.
“At that time, I couldn't read, write, swallow or speak,” Thomas said.
She was flown to OHSU and placed under the care of Wayne Clark, director of the Oregon Stroke Center at Oregon Health and Science University. He asked if she wanted to be part of a trial for a stem cell treatment that might help her recover.
“What this does, the stem cells are from very, very young cells, and they bathe the brain in this environment that makes it act like it’s young again,” Clark said.
The stem cells also turn off the inflammatory response sent by the spleen to the brain. The bone marrow-derived stem cells come from a donor and are multiplied in a lab.
“It can be easily stored in a refrigerator and mixed up quickly and given by IV. So, no specialized facilities will have to be … and a 36 hour window, so it could really allow a lot of patients to potentially benefit,” Clark said.
Thomas made a significant recovery, like 70 percent of patients in the multistem trial. She credits it with giving her an edge.
“Every day it got better, and my mantra was, ‘every day is a good day,’ because I’m still here, I’m still improving,” Thomas said.
UT Health said they begin clinical trials of this drug in about two months.
Patients have to be enrolled 18 to 36 hours after suffering the first symptoms of a stroke. So, there is still a timeline albeit much longer than the typical three hours.
Patients would have to be at Memorial Hermann in the Texas Medical Center to be enrolled. Just like any trial, half of participants would get the trial drug, half would get a placebo.
UT Health said “Once the study begins, if a loved one has an ischemic stroke, you want to get them to Memorial Hermann-TMC (we have the largest number of stroke studies so even if they are not qualified for this one, there’s something they might be able to enroll in to increase their chances of healing).”
Dr. Sean Savitz is principal investigator for the Phase 3 part of this and has been doing studies on multistem for stroke beginning in animal models for a decade.
Thomas hopes more stroke patients have access to multiStem.
Clark says it is also extremely important people are aware of the warning signs of stroke such as slurred speech or one side of the body feeling weak, paralyzed, or very numb. If you have these symptoms, do not hesitate to seek immediate medical care.