A research project headed by associate professor at Aarhus University, Kim Ryun Drasbek, will study the beneficial effects of what is known as conditioning in patients with a blood clot (thrombosis) in the brain. The project has received a grant of DKK 202,500 from the Riisfort Foundation.

2017.06.01 | Henriette Blæsild Vuust

Associate Professor Kim Ryun Drasbek.

In the project ‘Examination of the beneficial effect of conditioning after a thrombosis in the brain’, researchers utilise the fact that the body itself produces miRNA molecules, and that the type and amount of these is altered by external influences. A change in microRNAs is seen after a special form of stimulation which is called conditioning, where – under controlled conditions – the flow of blood in the arm of patients who have suffered a blood clot is repeatedly stopped. 

The small particles which transport the microRNA around the body change in number and surface after conditioning – and these surface changes are precisely what can lead the stimulated particles to seek out the diseased areas in the body. Even though researchers do not yet understand the mechanisms behind conditioning, they have observed the protective effect following treatment of patients with heart failure and patients with thrombosis in the brain and that these patients experience better survival rates and fewer permanent injuries. 

The researchers will examine whether changes in microRNA could be the key to understanding why conditioning works and, based on this knowledge, be able to refine the treatment method. In the long term, it could be possible to utilise microRNAs, which act to protect the body’s organs, as new medicine to treat patients who have suffered a blood clot in the brain or heart.

Contact

Associate Professor Kim Ryun Drasbek

Centre of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience (CFIN) at Aarhus University, Department of Clinical Medicine and Aarhus University Hospital.

Mobile (+45) 3027 4779
Email: ryun@cfin.au.dk