According to the National Stroke Association, nearly 800,000 people in the U.S. will experience a new or recurrent stroke this year and approximately 137,000 will die as a result — making this dangerous and difficult-to-treat disease the third leading cause of death and disability in America.

Medical experts say that stroke — a sudden interruption of oxygen to the brain due to a clot, plaque, or broken blood vessel — can happen to anyone at any time, regardless of race, sex or age.

Scientists have been busy researching ways to reduce incidents of stroke as well as searching for ways to reduce damage to brain cells when stroke occurs.

Neuroscience researcher Mark Underwood says the results of one recent study on preventing neuron damage during stroke has been particularly encouraging.

“An animal study presented at The Society for Neuroscience showed that a special ‘calcium-regulating’ protein found in jellyfish called apoaequorin protected oxygen-deprived neurons and was able to improve their survival rate by over 50 percent,” says Underwood.

Underwood says during a stroke, brain cells are weakened because their supply of oxygen and glucose is cut off.  In their weakened condition the cells’ ‘ion pumps’ become disabled, allowing massive amounts of calcium to flow into the cells.

“It’s the unregulated high concentration of calcium accumulating within the cells during a stroke which causes the cells to dysfunction and die,” says Underwood.  “For the person who experiences a stroke, the result of this calcium overload can be paralysis, loss of memory, numbness, the inability to communicate, or death.”

Noting the improved survival rate of neurons pre-treated with the calcium regulating protein apoaequorin in animal tests, Underwood says one could hypothesize that humans who supplement their diets with apoaequorin could also experience some degree of neuroprotection in the event of stroke.

“Protecting the brain from calcium toxicity before, during or after a stroke has become a major thrust in many research programs dedicated to brain health,” says Underwood.

“We look forward to determining apoaequorin’s specific neuroprotective qualities in human clinical trials.”