E-Mail
IMAGE: Propranolol treatment contributes to reduced number and size of cerebral cavernous malformations. Panel A shows a brain section of vehicle treated mouse. The lesions are outlined in green. view more
Credit: Joppe Oldenburg
Peer review/Experimental study/Animals
Propranolol, a drug that is efficacious against infantile haemangiomas ( strawberry naevi , resembling birthmarks), can also be used to treat cerebral cavernous malformations, a condition characterised by misshapen blood vessels in the brain and elsewhere. This has been shown by researchers at Uppsala University in a new study published in the scientific journal
Stroke. Up to now, there s been no drug treatment for these patients, so our results may become hugely important for them, says Peetra Magnusson of the University s Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, who headed the study.