WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., April 17 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists have identified a drug used to treat hypertension that may also reverse damage from spinal cord injuries, cancer and Parkinson's disease.
A team led by Purdue University researchers Riyi Shi and Richard Borgens found hydralazine, a medication that relaxes veins and arteries, may be an antidote for acrolein, a deadly toxin that's produced after a nerve cell is injured.
The findings are detailed in two studies published Monday in the Journal of Neuroscience.
In the first article, researchers examine how acrolein attacks and kills cells. In the second article, they demonstrate cell death caused by acrolein can be reversed when hydralazine is administered.
"This is probably the most important fundamental discovery we have made at the Center for Paralysis Research because we are saving nerve cells from death," said Borgens, a professor of applied neurology at Purdue's School of Veterinary Medicine.
Borgens founded the paralysis research center where the research was conducted.
"Initially we may use this discovery for spinal cord injury and stroke, but we can expect further studies will look at how it works against a whole spectrum of injury and disease," he said.
