New treatments for stroke patients could be developed because scientists have discovered more about the way the brain protects itself when starved of its blood supply.

Researchers identified a mechanism which enables the brain to keep functioning when supplies of oxygen and glucose are restricted because blood vessels are damaged or narrow.

When supplies fall, a protein called AMPK triggers a protective process which makes the brain operate more slowly and protects nerves against the effects of depleted oxygen supply.

This energy-saving mechanism allows the brain to function when otherwise it might shut down, the study conducted by the universities of Edinburgh, Dundee and Leeds found.

The newly-discovered mechanism controls the opening and closing of a complex series of valves on the cell membrane, called ion channels, which dictates heart-cell rhythm and protects nerves against reduced oxygen supply.

Ultimately this process can help nerve cells survive potentially lethal events such as strokes.

Mark Evans, professor of cellular pharmacology at the University of Edinburgh who led the research, said: “Our findings suggest that if brain cells run short of energy, they start to work more slowly. But it is better to work slowly than not at all.”

Co-author Chris Peers, professor at the University of Leeds, said the discovery could lead to new treatments for patients who have problems with blood supply to the brain.

The AMPK protein was first discovered by Graham Hardie, professor at the University of Dundee, who co-authored the new study.

He said: “When we first defined the AMPK system by studying fat metabolism in the liver in the 1980s, we had no idea that it might regulate completely different functions in other organs.

“There are drugs currently on the market that stimulate AMPK, which are used to treat other conditions. In future, these and other drugs could be given to at-risk patients to give them a better chance of surviving a stroke.”