Scientists are very excited over a new stem cell discovery that could be huge news for anyone who has suffered a brain injury. The study found that a new stem cell therapy healed injured brains in mice.

In mice that had gotten brain damage from a stroke like incident had seen an increase in nerve cells after the therapeutic statement, according to an NIH statement.

In fact, mice who got the treatment twice saw better results than mice that got it only once or not at all. The findings result in new hope that a treatment can be found for those who have had brain damage from a stroke or other cardiac incident.

“The therapy relies on the combination of two methods that show promise as treatments for stroke-induced neurological injury,” the NIH statement reads. “The first consists of surgically grafting human neural stem cells into the damaged area, where they mature into neurons and other brain cells. The second involves administering a compound called 3K3A-APC, which the scientists have shown helps neural stem cells grown in a petri dish develop into neurons. However, it was unclear what effect the molecule, derived from a human protein called activated protein-C (APC), would have in live animals.

“A month after their strokes, mice that had received both the stem cells and 3K3A-APC performed significantly better on tests of motor and sensory functions compared to mice that received neither or only one of the treatments. In addition, many more of the stem cells survived and matured into neurons in the mice given 3K3A-APC,” it adds.