Use of SCF and G-CSF in the treatment of cerebral ischemia and neurological disorders

Abstract

The present invention relates to the use of stem cell factor (SCF) polypeptide, alone and in combination with granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) polypeptide, in the prevention or treatment of injury to the brain after cerebral ischemia or neurological disorder. More particularly, the invention provides methods of improving neurological function and outcome after stroke by the administration of SCF polypeptide, alone and in combination with G-CSF polypeptide. This treatment can be used alone or in combination with other well-known methods of treatment of cerebral ischemia and neurological disorders in a mammal.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60 / 625,189 filed Nov. 5, 2004, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to the use of stem cell factor (SCF) polypeptide, alone and in combination with granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) polypeptide, to prevent or repair injury to the brain resulting from cerebral ischemia and neurological disorders. More particularly, the invention provides methods of treating stroke by the administration of SCF polypeptide, alone and in combination with G-CSF polypeptide, to improve functional recovery in both acute and chronic stages of stroke. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Stroke is the leading cause of adult disability and the third cause of death worldwide. In the United States alone, a person has a stroke every 45 seconds, which accounts for approximately 700,000 people per year. Stroke is the t...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0016] The term “neurological function” as used herein includes the multiple functions of the brain and nervous system including, but not limited to, fine and gross motor skills, vision and visual attention, hearing, memory, touch perception, emotional responses, consciousness, ability to respond to environment, judgment, language, word association, memory, ability to plan a sequence of complex movements needed to complete multi-stepped tasks, spontaneity in interacting with others, flexibility in thinking, persistence of a single thought, ability to focus on task, mood changes, social behavior, personality, problem solving, goal directed voluntary movements, integration of different senses that allows for understanding a single concept, ability to attend to more than one object at a time, ability to name an object, ability to locate the words for writing, ability to read, ability to draw, ability to distinguish left from right, ability to doing mathematics, awareness of body parts and / or surrounding space, eye and hand coordination, breathing, heart rate, swallowing, reflexes, blood pressure, digestion, temperature regulation and sweating, alertness, ability to sleep, sense of balance, and sleeping.

Problems solved by technology

Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the U.S., and it can lead to severe, long-term disability.

Damage to the brain can cause loss of speech, vision, or movement in an arm or a leg, depending on the part of the brain that is affected.

Cerebral ischemia induced by stroke leads to rapid death of neurons and vascular structures in the supplied region of the brain.

The loss of neurons, arterioles, and capillaries in the infarcted zone is irreversible and results in the formation of scar tissue over time.

Attempts to replace the necrotic zone of the brain by transplanting fetal brain cells and other stems cells have been done, and although these attempts have been successful in the survival of many of the grafted cells, they have invariably failed to reconstitute healthy neurons and cerebral vessels integrated structurally and functionally with the spared cerebral tissue.