UPDATED January 20,2017 – A “stroke” is a term to describe an interruption of blood flow and oxygen to parts of our brains. There are 2 main types and causes of brain strokes that we treat at our centre.

1. A stroke caused by blockage of the blood vessels that supply blood to our brain is known as an ischemic stroke and is generally the most common type of strokes we treat at the regeneration Centre Ischemic strokes are usually caused by blood clots or stenosis (narrowing of the blood arteries.) Stenosis if often caused by poor habits that lead to atherosclerosis causing thick artery walls, hardening and also a loss of elasticity which leads to decreasing blood flow. Other factors include a family history of strokes/genetics, atrial fibrillation,heart disease, Congestive heart failure, diabetes, high cholesterol and Smoking.(Hao et al. 2014)*

2. A hemorrhagic stroke is usually caused rupture in the blood vessels. There are several causes for a hemorrhagic stroke including aneurysms,weak spots on the arterial walls and Hypertension or High blood pressure. There are 2 main types of hemorrhagic strokes. Intracerebral hemorrhaging (brain blood vessel leaks blood inside the brain) and subarachnoid hemorrhaging (bleeding brain membranes into the fluid–filled areas surrounding the brain.

Early Warning Signs and Symptoms of Strokes

For most people, the symptoms of a stroke typically start without prior warning and can last from just a few seconds to a few minutes. Some fortunate patients recover quickly without further damage or issues buy for many this is not the case. The symptoms and warning signs often depend on which area of brain gets affected. Severe strokes affect larger areas thus more physical functions are likely lost.

Currently, the only traditional treatments of ischemic strokes requires restoration of proper blood flow back into the affected area by using a mechanical device or thrombolytics that physically removes any brain clots. The use of thrombolytics is very beneficial if introduced a few hours after the patient displays stroke symptoms but not very effective the longer a patient waits. This means that only a few stroke patients are able to take advantage of this therapy due to the timing requirements.

How to Reverse Stroke Damage

The damage to the brain is usually done when proper flow of oxygen and blood is stopped or blocked for a period of time. It is critical to get immediate medical intervention to try to restore the normal circulation of blood and oxygen to the brain and avoid long term damage. We typically recommend having active treatments like neural stem cell replacement as quickly as possible following a stroke to avoid the chances of lesions forming which lead to scar tissue that cannot be repaired after a certain length of time causing permanent paralysis with peripheral neuropathic pain in ischemic stroke patients

Neuroregeneration Therapy Post Stroke Treatment

Stem cell treatment for Brain Strokes offers and effective alternative medical treatment to target and repair the brain tissue damage to try and recover lost functions along with measurable neurological improvements .(Nilanont et al. 2013)*Traditional treatments for stroke patients can only manage the symptoms but cannot do much to try to repair the damaged tissue or replace the deal cells. Clinical Grade Neural Stem cell infusions on the other hand focus on the underlying cause of the patients injury and not just mask the symptoms. Neural stem cell transplants are safe and painless to inject and have shown to survive transplantation and begin differentiating into fresh neurons in the patients brain tissue. In addition to replacement of damaged cells, replacement therapy can also induce endogenous neural precursors that help boost the brain’s’ structural neuroplasticity, regulate pro-inflammatory cytokines and the neuronal apoptotic death process.

Neural stem cell therapy works by targeting the brain’s neural circuitry that controls all motor function. The cells are first enhanced in our stem cell lab in Bangkok then injected intravenously, via lumbar puncture or near the motor neurone tracts close to the lesions in an attempt to promote regeneration and repair through the section of Cytokines and nerve growth factors. The benefits are gradual however most patients we accept show immediate improvements after the first or second infusions and continue to show improvement 3-6 months post therapy. The results are permanent but will require consistent physical and speech rehabilitation after treatment to allow the brain to return to proper function especially for cases with cerebral hemorrhaging and cerebral infarction.(Bandasak et al. 2011)*

Other noticeable Improvements of Stem cell therapy for Strokes include:

• Improved physical coordination and posture

• Improved speech with decreased symptoms of facial palsy

• Improved lower body movements

• Ability to stand unassisted

• Improved hand eye coordination with improvements in fine motor skills especially with hands, fingers and toes

• Increase in overall muscle strength

• Improvements in overall blood circulation

• Reduction in muscle tension

• Improved sensations in face and limbs

Based on our experiences the most successful patients started treatment earlier rather than later. Lack of oxygen to the brain can cause rapid damage and failure to other vital organs.(Dharmasaroja 2008)* If you or a loved one are unable to get stem cell therapy quickly after a stroke we recommend daily use of a hyperbaric oxygen chambers, External counterpulsation therapy (ECP), pulsed electromagnetic therapy (PEMFT) to areas on the back of the patients head, neural growth factors,nutritional iv injections and/or periodic acceleration therapy (pGz).