Two drugs, in use for treating heart disease and angina, have shown promise in an early trial in preventing stroke and dementia caused by damage to small blood vessels in the brain.
The drugs — cilostazol and isosorbide mononitrate — weretested in a group of patients in Britain. The results published in the journalEclinicalMedicine showed that patients tolerated the drugs, with no seriousside-effects, even when they were given in full doses or in combination withother medicines.
“The results of this trial show promise for treating acommon cause of stroke and the most common cause of vascular dementia, sincecurrently there are no effective treatments. Further trials are underway,”said lead researcher Joanna Wardlaw, Professor at University of Edinburgh inBritain.
Damage to small blood vessels in brain is responsible foraround a quarter of strokes. It is also a common cause of memory problems anddementia. At present, the only way to reduce risk of the disease is bycontrolling blood pressure and cholesterol, stopping smoking and managingsymptoms of diabetes.
For the study, researchers recruited 57 patients who hadexperienced stroke caused by damaged small blood vessels, known as a lacunarstroke. They took the two medicines either individually or in combination forup to nine weeks, in addition to usual treatments aimed at preventing furtherstrokes.
They completed health questionnaires and had regular bloodpressure checks, blood tests and brain scans. The findings suggest the drugsare safe for use in stroke patients, taken alone or in combination, at least inthe short term.
There were also signs that the treatment helped improveblood vessel function in the arms and brain, and may improve thinking skills,but researchers stressed further studies to test this.
Experts believe the findings pave the way for larger studies to check if the treatment can prevent brain damage and reduce risk of stroke and vascular dementia. A larger study, called LACI-2, is underway, said a statement from University of Edinburgh.