SCIENTISTS are a step closer to preventing brain damage in people who've had a stroke.
Australian and Chinese brain researchers hope trials showing how experimental drugs can help reduce brain damage in rats and mice after a stroke may help develop future treatments for people.
The trials were carried out after Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health researchers discovered that a protein which plays a role in Alzheimer's disease is also involved in stroke.
Stroke is one of Australia's biggest killers and a leading cause of disability, with more than 80 per cent of strokes occurring in people aged over 55.
Levels of the protein, named tau, have been found to drop following a stroke, and lead to a build-up of iron in cells. That build-up can then start killing off brain cells.
The researchers used experimental drugs to save the loss of vital brain tissue by blocking the build-up of iron, which can lead to brain cell death.
The team found when it used the drugs on older rats and mice that had endured a stroke, brain damage was reduced by half.
The researchers, whose work was published in Molecular Psychiatry, said animals functioned significantly better on tests of motor co-ordination and cognitive performance.
Florey Institute director, stroke neurologist Professor Geoffrey Donnan, said the findings highlight the need to study potential stroke treatments in older animals "at an age that better reflects when the majority of Australians suffer a stroke".