Stroke drug keeps brain cells from self-destructing

Hello Health Rounds readers! Many stroke patients do not get to the hospital in time to be helped by current medicines. That may change based on promising results of an experimental drug designed to buy them more time. We also highlight a study that found benefits of utilizing AI in prenatal screening.

In breaking news stories from our Reuters team:  US Supreme Court poised to side with anti-abortion pregnancy centers in NJ, and another US court says NY can't stop crisis pregnancy centers' speech on 'abortion pill reversal'; US FDA moves to curtail drug trials in primates, and its newly appointed drug evaluation chief is set to leave; and US announces zero tariff pharmaceutical deal with Britain. 

Also - it's a big week for US vaccine policy, with an upcoming vote on delay of hepatitis B shots. Meanwhile, RFK Jr. vaccine advisers will review whether shots are causing allergies and US pediatric cardiologist Milhoan to chair CDC vaccine panel.

A little reminder: if you're enjoying the stories featured in this newsletter, don't forget that a Reuters subscription gives you unlimited access to all stories and fewer ads. Plus, no surprise price increases and you can cancel anytime. Sign up here.

An independent review by vaccine experts of more than 400 studies and reports found that long-standing U.S. policy of giving the hepatitis B vaccine to newborns has cut infections in children by more than 95%. Read more here.

Stroke patients who can't get to the hospital quickly enough to be eligible for the usual clot-busting treatments may soon have another option, results from a mid-stage trial suggest.

Currently available thrombolytic drugs must be given within a few hours after symptoms begin. That narrow window can rule out patients who did not, or could not, seek help promptly because they didn't immediately recognize their symptoms, as well as those who wake up with symptoms of a stroke that may have started hours earlier.

The experimental drug being developed by Silver Creek Pharmaceuticals and dubbed scp776 inhibits apoptosis, a process in which injured cells self-destruct.

The drug keeps injured cells alive by delivering a hormone called insulin-like growth factor 1, or IGF-1, which activates the cells' natural repair pathways.

In 119 patients who came to emergency departments on average about 12 hours after stroke onset - for whom there was no approved drug treatment - scp776 resulted in clinically meaningful improvements in outcomes compared to a placebo, researchers reported at the 2025 World Stroke Congress in Barcelona.

"It's very promising to see a therapy that leverages the brain's own recovery mechanisms to improve stroke outcomes in the clinic," Silver Creek Chief Scientific Officer Kris Kuchenbecker said in a statement.

At the time of hospital discharge, or by day 7 after symptom onset, patients receiving scp776 had on average a clinically significant 2.26-point higher score on the 42-point NIH Stroke Scale compared to those who received a placebo, although the difference was just short of statistical significance.

At 90 days, the treatment had resulted in a 15% increase in the relative proportion of patients achieving functional independence, researchers reported.

The drug has received FDA Fast Track designation for acute ischemic strokes caused by blockages in the arteries that carry blood to the brain. The Food and Drug Administration awards the designation to speed development and review of treatments for serious conditions where there is an unmet need.

"Scp776 harnesses the well-understood repair power of growth factors in a targeted way, finally delivering on the vast preclinical evidence of therapeutic benefit of IGF-1," Kuchenbecker said.

Artificial intelligence software can improve fetal screening for congenital heart defects, according to results of a new study.

Using a tool from medical company BrightHeart, researchers analyzed 200 fetal ultrasound scans obtained during the second trimester of pregnancy from women at 11 medical centers in two countries, including 100 with at least one suspicious finding.

Seven obstetrician-gynecologists and seven doctors who specialize in high-risk pregnancies reviewed each examination in randomized order, both with and without AI assistance, looking for findings that might indicate the presence of a severe heart defect.

The physicians detected more suspicious lesions, and in less time, with AI than without, according to a report in Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Overall, their detection rate rose from 82% to more than 97%, with an 18% reduction in reading time and 19% improvement in confidence scores.

"Our study should prompt and encourage future research into AI-assisted software's ability to improve detection rates... (and) reduce the variability and inequity of detection of congenital heart defects globally," study co-leader Dr. Andrei Rebarber of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai said in a statement.

"The future for prenatal diagnostic imaging is bright when AI software is employed as an adjunct to physician interpretation."

This newsletter was edited by Bill Berkrot; additional reporting by Shawana Alleyne-Morris.

Sponsors are not involved in the creation of newsletters or other Reuters news content. Advertise in this newsletter or on Reuters' website

Reuters Health Rounds is sent twice a week. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here.

Want to stop receiving this email? Unsubscribe here. To manage which newsletters you're signed up for, click here.

This email includes limited tracking for Reuters to understand whether you've engaged with its contents. For more information on how we process your personal information and your rights, please see our Privacy Statement.

Terms & Conditions