These researchers have synthesized particles called “PHySIOMIC” making it possible to identify and destroy the tiny blood clots responsible for strokes, with more precision and less toxicity for the body than the current process.
Effective in mice, we still need to test “PHySIOMIC” on two “large animals”, then humans, and define a procedure to produce it in series before marketing it, which will not happen before “five to ten years,” according to French researchers.
“An ischemic stroke is caused by a clot that migrates from the carotid artery and blocks blood flow in the brain, thus killing neurons. Today, we can see large clots using MRI (magnetic resonance imaging). On the other hand, we did not know how to detect the smallest clots, or “microthrombi,” specifies Inserm researcher Thomas Bonnard, quoted by the French press.
The “PHySIOMIC” contrast agent is made up of microparticles of iron oxide and polydopamine: an assembly of molecules of the neurotransmitter dopamine by which neurons usually communicate, used here as a material. Once injected into the bloodstream, it will attach to the microclot and will be visible on MRI thanks to its magnetic properties, we explain.
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