In this month's newsletter, we are happy to share with you the latest scientific achievement on NeuroAiD. You must have asked how NeuroAiD helps stroke patients. The answer was recently established by a team of world renowned French specialists in pharmacology and neurosciences. We will explain in details the effects of NeuroAiD on neuroplasticity, neurogenesis and neuroprotection helping an injured brain. We are also going to talk about stroke and bed sore, how is it developed, the risk factor for a stroke patients and what you can do to prevent it.

We would like to assist you in your return to daily life while recovering from stroke. As you are probably already aware, making the best use of time is of vital importance in your stroke recovery. Therefore, please allow us to call you at a number, day and time of your convenience, to hear your questions and explain our answers. If you agree, kindly email us the table below at info@neuroaid.com :

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If you choose to contact us yourself instead, call us on our US toll free number:
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The NeuroAiD™ Team at Moleac

Over the past years, NeuroAiD™ has been prescribed by Neurologists and taken by patients, who based their decision on the good outcome for post stroke patients and the lack of adverse events (the clinical evidence). Until recently nobody knew how NeuroAiD™ acted on the brain cells and it raised many questions and even sometimes on how the benefits observed in the recovery were actually obtained.

A team of world renowned French specialists in pharmacology and neurosciences have demonstrated and published recently the results of their research which establishes how NeuroAiD™ helps stroke patients recover better. This further scientific validation is a milestone for the stroke community as it will further strengthen the position of NeuroAiD™ as the treatment of choice post stroke.

The results published in Neuropharmacology journal have established NeuroAiD™ role in increasing the production of new neurons in the brain and connecting these neurons (neuroplasticity effect) as well as in building stronger neurons (neuroprotection).

Enhancing recovery

The post stroke recovery is a long journey you may be very familiar with. Before touching on how NeuroAiD™ helps in the recovery, you may be interested in the word "neuroplasticity". It refers to the brain’s ability to act and react in an ever-changing way. The brain works through neurons and the interconnection among them which creates an information circuit. Our brain never stops its development – when you learn a new skill in your daily life, new circuits are formed; when you practice the skill, these circuits are strengthened.

How can NeuroAiD™ enhance the recovery process? The scientists have observed a large increase in cell culture under a "stroke" condition. Without the treatment of NeuroAiD™, the cells die as expected. However, in the cell culture treated with NeuroAiD™, they survive better and they create a dense network of connections. This finding explains how NeuroAiD™ favor neuroplasticity process by helping to sproutnew circuits of information. As such It helps the brain to compensate for irreparably damaged or dysfunctional pathways by strengthening remaining ones and creating new connections. Associated with the rehabilitation therapy, the brain is in a better shape to learn rapidly new skill, therefore restoring lost and impaired neurological functions.

Protective effects – strengthening the Neurons

For several days after a patient suffers a stroke, brain cells suffer and die. NeuroAiD™ has been proved in increasing neuronal survival rate, therefore helps to limit the damage area when a stroke occurs. Cells culture has been studied with and without NeuroAiD™ treatment. It is observed that NeuroAiD™ significantly increased cell survival by 50%, halving the volume of the brain infarct. NeuroAiD™ has also been proved to decrease the cell suffering. All the evidences point out that NeuroAiD™ can effectively result in lower post stroke functional deficits. As such in the future, NeuroAiD™ may also be considered as a stroke prevention treatment and one should seek to initiate treatment as early as possible post stroke

Proliferative effects

"A damaged brain needs more healthy neurons." Here is the urgent message received by human stem cells. The stem cells are characterized by the ability to renew themselves through differentiating into a diverse range of specialized cell types. Stem cells can be transformed into specialized cells with characteristics consistent with cells of various tissues, like a neuron, for instance.

NeuroAiD™ has been proven to increase the proliferation of human stem cell, therefore it is suggested that NeuroAiD™ helps to increase the quantity new born neurons which later migrate to injured areas to compensate the loss locally. The damaged brain will be repopulated with the birth of more healthy neurons.

David Picard, CEO of Moleac, said "We are extremely enthusiastic and proud to see these data published. It is a strong validation of our research of active ingredients in NeuroAiD™ as well as of our efforts towards continuous optimization of its formula. These results pave the way for new indications of NeuroAiD™ beyond stroke recovery such as prevention, cognitive impairments and dementia. It is good news for patients who are in need of treatment in this under-served therapeutic area."

For further news, please see our full press release.

One of the major problems affecting stroke patients is the loss of or diminished sensation to certain parts of the body. During a stroke, blood flow to the brain is impeded. When blood flow to the brain is impaired for a certain amount of time, this will result to cellular death and eventually would affect neurons in the brain which perceive the sense of touch.

This state of altered sensation can lead to the development of pressure ulcers (formerly known as decubitus ulcers, bed sores or pressure sores). It is a painful localized lesion caused by unrelieved pressure to body tissues. This unrelieved pressure will eventually result to the damage of the underlying tissues. Since stroke patients experience altered sensations, pressure ulcers can be a major problem during their care. This problem persists in all types of care settings: acute care, long-term care settings and stroke patients cared for in their very own homes.

Pressure ulcers may form when a stroke patient is left alone in bed or sitting for a period of time. Due to their diminished sensation they do not feel that they have stayed on that same position for quite some time.

How are pressure ulcers developed

Pressure ulcers are a result of a restriction of blood flow to body tissues. The soft tissues are sandwiched between two hard surfaces.  One of these hard surfaces is the stroke patient's bony prominence and the other is a surface of a bed, a chair, a wheelchair or even other parts of the stroke patient's body.

Pressure ulcers are formed as a result of sustained pressure on a certain body part for a long time but they may also arise from repeated instances of interrupted blood flow without ample recovery time. In most cases, low pressure sustained for a longer time will more likely to develop into pressure ulcers than higher pressure endured for a shorter amount of time.

When the tissues are compressed for a long time, the skin takes on a pale color looking like the blood was drained out of it.  When the pressure is lifted, the skin’s color will then appear as bright red flush, known as reactive hyperemia. It is the body's mechanism to prevent pressure ulcers. It is a process which increases blood flow to the affected area to compensate for the time that blood flow was impaired. It lasts one-half to three-quarters long as the time when the blood was impeded on the soft tissue. For example, if blood flow was impaired for five minutes reactive hyperemia will last for two and a half minutes to three and three quarters of a minute. If the redness disappears within that time, damage to soft tissues has not occurred. If the redness does not subside, then expect that a pressure ulcer will eventually develop.

Areas where pressure ulcers develop

When a stroke patient is lying in bed in a supine position (lying flat on one's back), the body parts which are prone to pressure ulcers are the occipital bone (the back of the head), the scapula (the shoulder blades), the elbows, the sacrum (pelvic area) and the heels.

When a stroke patient is lying on his side, the affected area the parietal and temporal bones (the sides of the head), the ears, the shoulder, the ilium (part of the pelvic bone), the greater trochanter (part of the thigh bone), the median and sides of the knees and of the ankles.

When a stroke patient is left lying in bed in the prone position (lying on one's chest), areas where pressure ulcers may develop are the cheek and the ear, shoulders, breasts if the stroke patient is a woman, the genitals if the stroke victim is a man, patella of the knees and the toes.

When a stroke patient is sitting for a long time, the areas where ulcers may develop are the patient's vertebra, the sacrum, the pelvis and the heels.

Risk Factors in Stroke Patients

There are several factors that may lead to the formation of pressure ulcers. These are:

1. Immobility - weakness or paralysis may hinder the stroke patient's ability to turn positions to relieve pressure on certain areas of the body
2. Inadequate nutrition - when a stroke patient practices inadequate nutrition it will decrease the amount of tissues between skin and bone increasing the risk of pressure ulcer formation.
3. Fecal and urinary incontinence - the continued presence of moisture in the skin makes it easier for a stroke victim’s skin to erode.
4. Decreased mental status - conscious stroke persons are more aware that they have been staying in the same position for a long time.
5. Diminished sensation - due to a diminished sensation, a stroke victim may not respond to the tingling sensation (pins and needles) which is a sign of poor circulation

What you can do to prevent pressure ulcer formation

1. Turn the stroke patient in bed every hour but only 20 minutes on his affected side. For example if a stroke victim's right side is the affected side, the first hour he is flat on his back, the second hour he is lying on his left side, the third hour he is lying flat on his back again and then only twenty minutes on his right side.
2. Providing good nutrition to the stroke patient decreases the risk of pressure ulcer formation by increasing the padding between bones and body tissues.
3. Maintaining proper skin hygiene in a stroke victim prevents accumulation of moisture in the skin.
4. The use of supportive devices also decreases the risk of pressure ulcer formation. These may include a pillow to raise the knee or ankle from the bed or an egg crate mattress which evenly distributes the weight of a stroke patient.
5. Massage also helps increase blood flow circulation in the stroke victims affected area. However, if there is already a nonblanchable erythema massaging the area should be avoided. It would only increase the risk of ulcer formation because the tissue is already jeopardized.

Sources:
Kozier's Fundamentals of Nursing
Lippincott's Manual of Nursing Practice
Bedsores.org
Saintlukeshealthsystem.org