Stroke patients may be treated as late as 24 hours after Ictus

A study presented at the European Stroke Organization conference in Prague showed that treatment for severe-stroke patients as late as 24 hours after a stroke can restore brain function.

The study employed a clot-retrieval device from Stryker Corp and was conducted on 206 patients with serious strokes at 32 hospitals in the U.S., Spain, France and Australia.

The researchers suggested that 40% of patients with severe stroke fit in this new window of opportunity. They were able to lower by 73% the risk that a patient would become dependent on another person or health care providers for help in their daily activities.

For the past two decades, the clot dissolving drug tPA was the primary treatment for ischemic stroke. But the drug was useful only until about 4 ½ hours after a stroke. Clot-retrieval devices widened that window to about 6 hours, but brain tissue was considered irreparably damaged after that.

As the results of this study are promising a larger trial should be conducted as initiating treatment in the first 6 hours after ictus is difficult even in the most well organized centers.  As clot retrievers are used approximately in 25,000 cases in the U.S. every year the issue of the length of opportunity to intervene should be settled.  Another issue that should be looked at is the role an intact and complete circle of Willis plays on how patients respond to treatment.