Bat-Spit Drug May Improve Stroke Recovery

[medicRob]

This study was done quite some time ago, but I bring it up because it is part of a regional educational symposium coming up and I wanted your opinions.

Drug Made From Vampire Bat Saliva Extends Stroke Treatment Window
By Peggy Peck
WebMD Health News
Feb. 9, 2004 (San Diego) -- Stroke experts say "time is brain," meaning that once stroke occurs each ticking of the clock makes permanent damage more likely. But an experimental drug developed from a mainstay of horror stories -- vampire bats -- appears capable of beating the deadly stroke clock.

The new drug is called desmoteplase and it takes its name from Desmodus rotundus, the scientific name for vampire bats. When a bat bites its victim, a component of the bat's saliva keeps the victim's blood flowing without clots forming. The new drug is a genetically engineered version of the bat-saliva clot buster.

Source:
http://www.webmd.com/stroke/news/20040209/bat-spit-drug-may-improve-stroke-recovery


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This is one of the topics we will be discussing at an upcoming regional educational symposium hosted by our flight service. Apparently, the patient is afforded a 9 hour window as opposed to the typical 3 hour window, with a marked decrease in the risk of bleeding out in other areas, particularly in the brain.