A new study could be a "game changer" for stroke treatment across the globe.
The findings show adding a minimally invasive clot removal procedure, called stent thrombectomy, to the common clot-dissolving therapy calledtissue plasminogen activator (tPA) could have significant benefits for stroke patients, Melbourne Health reported.
"The new treatment, called stent thrombectomy, is a minimally invasive procedure performed via an angiogram. This involves inserting a small tube into an artery in the groin and feeding it up into the brain to capture the clot and remove it," said associate Professor Peter Mitchell.
The findings show this added therapy could significantly restore blood flow to the brain in patients recovering from a stroke. The study found blood flow to the brain was restored in 89 percent of the observed patients compared to 34 percent of patients who received standard treatment. Seventy-one percent of patients who received stent thrombectomy returned to living independent lives, compared to only 40 percent of the standard treatment group.
"This is an extremely impressive outcome given these patients had the most severe forms of stroke and dramatically reduces the burden of disability," said Royal Melbourne Hospital Neurologist and co-principal investigator, Dr. Bruce Campbell.
The most common form of stroke is ischemic stroke, which is caused by a clot blocking a blood vessel that carries blood to the brain. Stroke is also the leading cause of disability in adults the second cause of death worldwide.
The findings, whichbuild on an earlier Dutch study called MR-CLEAN, were published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine and will be presented at the 2015 International Stroke Conference.
