CINCINNATI, Ohio. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — Stroke, it’s the leading cause of death for Americans. Every 40 seconds someone will suffer from one. There are two types … ischemic and hemorrhagic. In an ischemic stroke, a blood vessel becomes blocked and the brain becomes deprived of oxygen. In a hemorrhagic stroke, the brain is flooded with blood from a burst aneurysm. The drug TPA became a lifesaver for the stroke caused by a clot. And now, the same doctors who used that drug for the first time in the world are now testing another drug to help people who suffer a hemorrhagic stroke.
When a person is having a stroke — every minute, every second, counts. It’s a race against the clock to save brain cells and save lives. Neurologist Joseph Broderick, MD of the University of Cincinnati Gardner Neuroscience Institute has been running that race for almost 40 years.
“I arrived at University of Cincinnati in 1987 and we treated the first patient with TPA in the world in 1987,” Dr. Broderick told Ivanhoe.
TPA has been very successful at stopping damage in ischemic strokes and now Dr. Broderick is working on a way to stop brain bleeds after a stroke.
He explained, “But there’s a good number of ’em. They’re gonna continue to grow. So, if we can stop the growth in its tracks, we can have an opportunity to improve outcome.”
Dr. Broderick is leading a global study on a drug that has been used for decades to help hemophiliac’s blood to clot. Recombinant factor VIIa helps stop bleeding in the brain.
“We looked at people who were within the very early time windows within the first couple hours after onset, that’s when the drug seemed to have its greatest benefit,” he said.
One way they are getting to patients faster — a mobile stroke unit where brain images can be taken on the spot and the drug given enroute to the hospital.
“We wanted to make sure we could treat people within two hours,” stated Dr. Broderick.
Dr. Broderick said due to the time limitations, the trial will also engage in a practice known as “exception from informed consent.” That means the FDA has given permission to give treatment quickly, even without consent of the patient or family member. The trial will enroll more than 800 patients in 100 cities across the U.S., Japan, Canada, and Europe.
Contributors to this news report include: Marsha Lewis, Producer; Matt Goldschmidt, Videographer; Roque Correa, Editor.
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Sources:
https://www.strokeinfo.org/stroke-facts-statistics/
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
| Joseph Broderick, MD
Neurologist at the University of Cincinnati Gardner Neuroscience Institute |
Tim Tedeschi
Public Information Officer for the University of Cincinnati |
If this story or any other Ivanhoe story has impacted your life or prompted you or someone you know to seek or change treatments, please let us know by contacting Marjorie Bekaert Thomas at mthomas@ivanhoe.com
