Edition: U.S. / Global

HEALTH WATCH; Weapon Against Strokes

Published: April 28, 1998

Researchers have found a way to use a drug to help people avoid strokes by keeping open the blood's channels to the brain.

Bankole Johnson, an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Texas-Houston Medical School, made his discovery using the drug isradipine, which prevents contraction of the blood vessels, to protect cocaine users who were seen as vulnerable to strokes because of family history.

Addicts given cocaine were found to benefit from isradipine in specific areas of the brain that are rich in the brain chemical dopamine.

Dr. Johnson concluded that the drug affects dopamine, which seems to be intimately involved in how cocaine works to restrict blood flow in the brain.

If the drug can stop the constriction of an addict's blood vessels, it could prevent an important cause of death among cocaine addicts.

And, Dr. Johnson says, it may also be useful in reducing the general likelihood of ischemia -- or lack of blood supply in tissue, offering hope for potential victims of strokes. FORD BURKHART