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Novel therapy seeks to bring light to post-stroke depression


July 7, 2015

An innovative technique that uses light to turn on or off cells in the brain holds “tremendous promise” in the treatment of severe anxiety and depression after stroke, says Dr. Paul Albert, a professor at the University of Ottawa and senior scientist at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute.

Dr. Albert is leading HSF Canadian Partnership for Stroke Recovery (CPSR) research into optogenetics, an emerging technology that aims to reset the balance in brain circuitry disrupted after stroke. The team is the only one in the world using optogenetics in an animal model of post-stroke depression and anxiety.

Testing of the game-changing technology is now underway in the mouse model, which was developed with CPSR funding, and early results are very encouraging, Dr. Albert says.

Winner of the Hakim Award, Dr. Albert’s project was the top-rated catalyst grant funded by the CPSR in 2015.

Read more about this research from the HSF Canadian Partnership for Stroke Recovery.