Living with a partner reduces brain damage from strokes, claims research

Living with a partner could protect stroke victims from major permanent brain damage, suggests new research.

Scientists believe that immediately after a stroke "social support" could lead to a reduction in the inflammation of the brain and so to less long term damage.

The researchers believe the findings could lead to better treatment for stroke victims.

Researchers at Ohio State University found that male mice that lived with a female partner before and after a stroke had a much higher survival rate compared to those mice that lived alone.

"Under nearly every measure, it seems that there was something about living together that protected the mice by reducing the damaging inflammatory response," said Kate Karelina, lead author of the study and a doctoral student in neuroscience.

In a series of experiments, Miss Karelina and her colleagues induced experimental strokes in male mice. Some of the mice lived with a female partner for two weeks before the stroke and continuing afterwards. Other mice lived alone before and after the stroke.

The researchers, who presented their work at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, found the effects of social isolation were devastating in mice that lived alone.

All of the mice that lived with another mouse survived seven days after the stroke – but only 40 percent of socially isolated animals lived that long.

The amount of tissue damage in the brain was about four times larger in the mice housed alone compared to those housed with another mouse.

The researchers examined tissue samples in different groups of mice 12 hours, one day, three days or seven days after the stroke to determine the extent of damage to the brain.

Findings revealed that mice that lived with others had significantly higher levels of a chemical in their brain called interleukin-6 (IL-6) that has an anti-inflammatory response in the brain, helping to limit damage caused by the stroke.

"We confirmed that social isolation contributes to the extent of neuronal damage in the brain as early as 24 hours after the stroke," said Courtney DeVries, associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at Ohio State, and a member of the university's Institute of Behavioural Medicine Research.

The amount of tissue damage in the brain was about four times larger in the mice housed alone compared to those housed with another mouse.

"The number of neurons dying is significantly decreased in the pair-housed mice," Miss DeVries said.

In addition, socially housed mice had significantly less edema, or excess water in the brain, when compared to the isolated animals.