DMT-based therapies could offer a promising alternative for stroke recovery, especially when combined with current treatments.
Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is a naturally occurring psychoactive compound present in various plants and mammals.
Research conducted by scientists at the HUN-REN BRC Institute of Biophysics and Semmelweis University Heart and Vascular Centre, as reported in Science Advances, indicates that DMT can help mitigate stroke-related damage in both cell cultures and animal models. (1✔ ✔Trusted Source
N,N-dimethyltryptamine mitigates experimental stroke by stabilizing the blood-brain barrier and reducing neuroinflammation
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)A Natural Ingenuity: Unlocking the Brain’s Own Stroke Recovery Mechanism
DMT is also present in the human brain, and it is currently undergoing clinical trials to aid recovery of brain function after stroke.
However, its exact mechanism of action had not been fully understood until now. “It is amazing how we can always turn to Nature to find ingenious solutions for health problems” says co-lead author Mária Deli from the HUN-REN BRC.
“We found that DMT significantly reduced infarct volume and edema formation in a rat stroke model”, explains co-first author Marcell László. In both animal experiments and cell culture models, the authors showed that DMT treatment restored the structure and function of the damaged blood-brain barrier and improved the function of astroglial cells.
This psychoactive compound also inhibited the production of inflammatory cytokines in brain endothelial cells and peripheral immune cells, while reduced the activation of brain microglia cells through Sigma-1 receptors.
Dual Action Offers Novel Hope for Limited Stroke Therapies
“The therapeutic options currently available for stroke are very limited. The dual action of DMT, protecting the blood-brain barrier while reducing brain inflammation, offers a novel, complex approach that could complement existing treatments”, says Judit Vigh, co-first author of the work.
Since current stroke therapies do not always result in full recovery, a DMT-based treatment may represent a promising new alternative, mainly in combination with existing methods.
The recent findings from researchers in Szeged and Budapest, Hungary, support the development of a therapy that goes beyond the limitations of conventional stroke treatment.
Clinical trials on the use of DMT and investigation on its long-term effects are currently ongoing.
References:
- N,N-dimethyltryptamine mitigates experimental stroke by stabilizing the blood-brain barrier and reducing neuroinflammation – (https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adx5958)
Source-Eurekalert