New Drug Discovered At Purdue

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(WEST LAFAYETTE) - Researchers at Purdue’s center for paralysis research have made a potentially groundbreaking discovery.

A team led by doctors Riyi Shi and Richard Borgens has shown that a drug called hydralazine can help reverse cell death in some nerve tissue. Borgens, the center's founding director, says the medication eliminates the chemical in cells which causes them to shut down. He says even traumatic injuries can be treated if hydralazine is administered quickly enough.

Borgens says it's important not to think of the discovery as a "magic bullet", but he says it could have applications treating diseases like cancer, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. Borgens says federal approval of such a treatment is still several years way.

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