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A recent study led by Helena Vieira, head of the Molecular Mechanisms of Disease Lab at UCIBIO-NOVA FCT, has been published in the journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine. The study, titled "Identification of human circulating factors following remote ischemic conditioning (RIC): potential impact on stroke", explores the protective effects of remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) on the brain, offering potential advances in stroke prevention and neurodegenerative diseases. 

  

Remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) is a medical procedure involving short cycles of restricted blood flow to a non-vital organ, such as the arm, which triggers protective mechanisms in distant organs like the brain. In this study, researchers focused on identifying the biochemical factors and proteins in human plasma induced by RIC and their protective effects. 

  

“The research study, conducted in both humans and experimental models, revealed a key finding: the conditioned plasma from healthy volunteers was able to protect microglial cells, critical immune cells in the brain, against neuroinflammation”, explained Inês Mollet, researcher at the Molecular Mechanisms of Disease Lab and first author of publication. This is a significant step forward in understanding how RIC may contribute to the prevention and treatment of stroke and other neurodegenerative conditions. 

  

Helena Vieira concludes: “This work highlights the potential of RIC as a therapeutic strategy, bringing us closer to effective treatments for brain-related diseases. The study provides important insights into the molecular mechanisms behind RIC, paving the way for future clinical applications”. The research study developed at the Molecular Mechanisms of Disease Lab at UCIBIO-NOVA FCT was done in collaboration with research teams from iNOVA4Health-NOVA Medical School, Hospital de Egas Moniz, CCAL – Centro Clínico Académico de Lisboa, Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown and Proteomics Core Facility-SGIKER, University of the Basque Country (Spain). 

 

 

Original article:  

Identification of human circulating factors following remote ischemic conditioning (RIC): Potential impact on stroke 

Mollet I.G., Viana-Soares R., Cardoso-Pires C., Soares N.L., Marto J.P., Mendonça M., Queiroga C.S.F., Carvalho A.S., Sequeira C.O., Teixeira-Santos L., Fernandes T.P., Aloria K., Pereira S.A., Matthiesen R., Viana Baptista M. and H.L.A. Vieira   

Free Radical Biology and Medicine, 2024  

DOI: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2024.08.017