Two therapies being developed for patients suffering from stroke – the third leading cause of death in the United States – will be discussed at the UGA/MCG Discovery Institute Seminar today.

Georgia has one of the greatest mortalities worldwide due to stroke, David Hess, chairman of the Department of Neurology and co-director of the Brain and Behavior Discovery Institute at MCG, said in a telephone interview.

“Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina are in the stroke belt,” Hess said.

The two therapies may help block the negative side effects of tPA, a stroke treatment that must be given to patients within three hours after having a stroke – otherwise it can cause bleeding in the brain.

A drug called Minocycline has received approval from the Food and Drug Administration to begin trials on patients. Minocycline has been given to 14 patients and has proven effective six hours after a stroke.

Stem cell therapy has been tested on animals since
2004, Hess said. Working with adult stem cells, the therapy is being developed to treat patients days after having a stroke. It is hoped that clinical trials will start later this year, Hess said.

The seminar is at 2 p.m. today in the Paul D. Coverdell Center Auditorium.