Old drug has hope for stroke patients

Researchers at the US Johns Hopkins School of Medicine have presented data, which show that patients receiving an experimental tissue  plasminogen activator (tPA) for the treatment of intracranial hemorrhage  (ICH) were not only more likely to survive, but also continued to  recover six months later, at the American Heart Association's  International Stroke Conference in San Diego, California.

The results of a multicenter study in 52 patients treated with low doses  of tPA administered by catheter directly into the brain over 30 days  after ICH strokes to bathe and destroy blood clots. with the agent,  showed that about 80% survived, compared to data from previous studies  when about 80% of untreated patients died. In addition, the researchers  found that about 10% of patients had no lingering disability after six  months. Another 40% had only mild-to-moderate disability and were  independently caring for themselves at home after 180 days. Patients who  were initially more severely disabled continued to improve months after  treatment, with the majority scoring lower on disability assessments  after six months compared to at 30 days.