Stroke recovery is easier for patients missing a gene, study finds

Missing a certain gene may actually be an advantage for stroke survivors, a new study suggests. 

People who don't have the CCR5 gene are able to regain cognitive and motor functions more quickly and completely after suffering a stroke, collaborating researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles and Tel Aviv University found.

CCR5 is the same gene that allows the HIV virus to enter certain cells, according to previous research. 

And using an already FDA-approved drug that blocks the gene may help mild or moderately severe stroke patients to better recover from the events, the new study suggests. 

For the first time, scientists have linked a gene - CCR5 - to stroke recovery, and found that turning it off using an existing HIV drug may ensure people recover better from brain trauma

For the first time, scientists have linked a gene - CCR5 - to stroke recovery, and found that turning it off using an existing HIV drug may ensure people recover better from brain trauma

Even a mild stroke can be debilitating, altering mobility, memory and cognitive function. 

The extent of a stroke's damage varies wildly from person to person, and scientists may at last have some clues as to why. 

A stroke occurs when oxygen is temporary cut off from the brain. 

Without oxygen, brain cells begin to die off, and the neural connections those cells were involved in are lost with them. 

But the brain is a remarkably malleable, reparable organ. 

Its ability to form new connections between neurons is called neuroplasticity, and how 'flexible' the brain is at any given time is influenced by both our DNA and day-to-day factors like our stress levels. 

The UCLA team discovered that the CCR5 gene is intimately involved in determining how well the brain can recover after a stroke. 

The expression of this gene seems to cause all kind of problems in the body and brain. 

CCR5 not lets the HIV virus sneak into certain cells, its expression also seems to inhibit neuroplasticity and, therefore, recovery from traumatic brain events

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