(dailyRx News) A common blood pressure medication may actually
aid in healing the brain following a stroke. University of
Georgia researchers found the drug appears to boost blood vessel
growth on the brain's unaffected side. Most stroke research
hasn't examined the presumed healthy and unaffected side of the
brain after a stroke has occurred. Susan Fagan, a professor of
clinical and administrative pharmacy at the University of
Georgia College of Pharmacy, said she is excited about the
finding because it may allow scientists to harness the
restorative properties of the brain's other side through drug
therapy. Doctors and scientists have long debated whether
elevated blood pressure should be lowered in stroke patients,
especially since it is known that lowering blood pressure too
soon after a stroke could lessen necessary supplies of oxygen in
the brain. During the study, researchers induced strokes in two
groups of male Wistar rats by blocking a major artery in the
brain. A third placebo group, which was not