New medical research is giving patients hope that the damage done by strokes doesn't have to be permanent.

The clot busting drug, Tissue-type plasminogen activator — also known as tPA — was a game changer when it was created 30 years ago for treating ischemic strokes.

The drug has to be administered within four hours of a stroke.

An extenal trial found tPA may still be helpful up to 10 hours after a stroke, and LSU neuroscientist Dr. Nicolas Bazan is working on ways to save brains up to eight and nine days after a stroke.

“Perhaps there are experimental treatments that we can try to protect that area and then be able to restore function of that area,” Bazan said.

By pinpointing which cells in the brain are involved in post-stroke response, Bazan believes neuroprotective molecules his team discovered could save brain cells.

Bazan believes that finding new ways to save brain cells will help patients recover faster, with less long-term disability.

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