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In a study on rats, a coffee and alcohol combination know as caffeinol
given within 3 hours of an artery supplying blood to the brain
being blocked was shown to reduce damage by up to 80%. It delivers
the potency of 2 cups of strong coffee and an alcoholic drink,
although neither caffeine nor alcohol were protective on their
own. Treating and looking after the 140,000 stroke victims a year
costs the NHS in Britain an estimated £2.3 billion. The experimental
drug has been shown to be safe in a pilot study of patients suffering
from ischaemic stroke where a clot blocks blood going into the
brain and the findings were reported in the Stroke Journal of
the American Heart Association.
In the study on humans, lead by Professor James Grotta, a team
at the University of Texas gave the treatment to 16 females and
17 male stroke victims with an average age of 71. The aim of this
study was to see if they could safely achieve the same blood levels
of caffeinol that were achieved in the animal studies. Professor
Grotta said, "We discovered that we could use even lower doses
than we used in the animal studies and achieve the blood levels
that were neuro-protective in animals". Caffeinol can be safely
administered to patients also receiving traditional ‘clot-busting’
drugs used to treat strokes.Professor Grotta said a "randomised
placebo-controlled trial" was needed to determine the extent of
caffeinol’s protective effect in humans. He is planning a study
combining caffeinol with thermo-cooling in stroke patients. Other
studies have suggested that cooling the brain might limit stroke
damage. |
