Search Here

Two new researches with "counterintuitive findings" suggest that a clot-breaking drug commonly used for heart attacks as well as non-bleeding strokes can potentially help patients suffering from hemorrhagic stroke.

In the annual meeting of the American Stroke Association in Los Angeles last Thursday, researchers suggest that the clot-busting drug known as tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) has a potential role in reducing the number of deaths among patients with hemorrhagic stroke.

According to US News and World Report, the first study involved 500 hemorrhagic stroke patients receiving treatment at 73 hospitals in different parts of the world. Led by Dr. Daniel Hanley of John Hopkins University in Baltimore, the research revealed that directing tPA at the brain's fluid-filled cavities or ventricles can reduce death rate by 10% without disabling the patients.

In another study led by Dr. Issam Awad from the University of Chicago, 500 intraventricualr hemorrhage patients were treated with tPA or saline through a brain catheter.

In the five-year study, researchers noted that death rate was cut by 10% in patients who received tPA. Furthermore, they reported that 79.8% of patients who got tPA had 80% clot removal with 90% of them seeing a doubled increase of their chance of survival.

"When we entered into the trial, we knew very little about how this therapy ought to be used, in whom it should be used, and whether it was safe. We now have clear data on how best to implement the procedure, and for at least a group of patients, we know it can nearly double the likelihood of a favorable outcome," said Awad as quoted by Latin Post.

Hemorrhagic stroke is a result of the rupture of blood vessels in the brain leading to increased pressure that eventually damages brain tissues. When the blood clots afterwards, it is extremely difficult remove even after a surgery in a report by Tech Times.