Featured Article Academic Journal Main Category: Stroke Also Included In: Clinical Trials / Drug Trials Article Date: 28 May 2012 - 2:00 PDT
Current ratings for: 'Stroke Survivors Benefit From Clot Buster'
Led by the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, the international trial, known as IST-3, found that for every 1,000 patients that received the clot-buster within the first three hours of a stroke, 80 more survive and live without help from others, compared to patients not receiving the drug.
The IST-3 collaborative group write about their findings in a paper that was published online in The Lancet on 23 May. Alongside the trial results they also present an analysis of all other drug trials of rt-PA conducted in the last 20 years.
IST-3 stands for the third International Stroke Trial. Its aim was to find out whether a wider range than hitherto of patients treated within the first 6 hours from stroke onset might benefit.
One of the IST-3 group members, Professor Peter Sandercock, is Chief Investigator at Edinburgh's Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences and Director of Edinburgh Neuroscience. He told the press:
"Our trial shows that it is crucial that treatment is given as fast as possible to all suitable patients."
Rt-PA (recombinant tissue plasminogen activator) is a clot-busting drug that is given intravenously to patients who have suffered an acute ischemic stroke, where a blood clot interrupts the blood supply to the brain.
The multi-centre, randomized study involved more than 3,000 patients enrolled in over 150 hospitals in 12 countries, and is the world's largest ever trial of rt-PA. Just over half the participants were over 80 years of age.
The damage from an ischemic stroke can be permanent or fatal. Symptoms of damage include paralysis down one side of the body and problems with speech.
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Stroke Survivors Benefit From Clot Buster