HealthDay: 'Neuroprotectant' drug could boost outcomes after stroke

A new study found using a "neuroprotectant" drug alongside the standard surgical removal of a blood clot may reduce the risk of death and disability following a stroke.

Researchers presenting data at the International Stroke Conference reported the medication, called ApTOLL, protects brain tissue from continuing damage by cooling down inflammation.

More than 150 people who had an ischemic stroke were enrolled in the study in France and Spain, either receiving ApTOLL at two different doses or a placebo medication in addition to mechanical blood clot removal.

The patients who received the higher dose of ApTOLL were four times less likely to die from stroke compared to the patients who received a placebo.

Joseph Broderick, MD, professor in UC’s Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation Medicine in the College of Medicine, director of the UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute and a UC Health physician, commented on the study for HealthDay. He said the drug needs to be tested more thoroughly before becoming a standard of care.

"The data warrants further study in a phase 3 study, but differences seen in this trial may be due to small number of patients and imbalances in factors related to outcome," Broderick said, adding that a much larger trial would be needed to confirm the findings.

Read the HealthDay article.

Featured photo at top of Dr. Broderick. Photo/Joseph Fuqua II/University of Cincinnati