Clot-busting treatment secure for sufferers who get up with stroke
Using a clot-busting medication to treat people who wake up with symptoms of stroke was safe and should be studied further to see how effective it might be for a population that otherwise has few treatment options, according to researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). The results of the first prospective multicenter study for people with "wake-up stroke" were published online in the journal Annals of Neurology. Prior studies have all been retrospective reviews. The only medication available to treat stroke is tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), but it must be given within 4.5 hours of the onset of the stroke to be effective. Traditionally, since a physician doesn't know when stroke symptoms began in a patient who wakes up with a stroke, that patient is not eligible for tPA. "Similar to heart attack, a significant portion -- 1 out of 4 -- of strokes start suddenly at or just before waking. At that time, the body unde...