Rinsho Shinkeigaku (Clinical Neurology)

The 42nd Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Neurology

Symposium I-3: Brain attack and the treatment
Strategy for circulatory disturbance

Shinichiro Uchiyama, M. D. , Masako Yamazaki, M. D. and Makoto Iwata, M. D.

Department of Neurology, Neurological Institute, Tokyo Women' s Medical University

A meta-analysis by the Cochrane Stroke Group (CSG) showed that thrombolytic therapy increased deaths as well as symptomatic and fatal intracranial hemorrhage within the first seven to 10 days and at final follow-up, although these risks are offset by a reduction in disability in survivors, so that there is overall a significant net reduction in the proportion of patients dead or dependent. Trials testing intravenous (IV) tPA suggest that it may be associated with less hazard and more benefit. A recent trial demonstrated that intra-arterial pro-urokinase improved long-term outcome in patients with M 1 or M 2 occlusion within6hours of onset. Trials of the third generation of thromobolytic agents are ongoing in patients with acute ischemic stroke.
The latest CSG' s meta-analysis showed that immediate anticoagulant therapy in patients with acute ischemic stroke was not associated with net short or long-term benefit because there was no evidence that anticoagulant therapy reduced deaths or non-fatal stroke during treatment or patients dead or dependent at the end of follow-up. However, an IV low-molecular-weight heparinoid showed a trend toward improving long-term outcome in subgroup of patients with atherothrombotic stroke. The thrombin inhibitor argatroban was proven to be comparable to the thromboxane A2 synthetase inhibitor ozagrel in the effect on the outcome at one month in patients with atherothrombotic stroke within 48 hours of onset in Japan, and a trial of the agent is ongoing in patients with ischemic stroke within 12 hours of onset in the United States.
Two large trials of aspirin in patients with ischemic stroke within 48 hours of onset indicated that aspirin had a modest effect on reducing patients dead or dependent at the end of follow-up. An international trial of abciximab, a monoclonal antibody directed against platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa, is ongoing in patients with ischemic stroke within 6 hours of onset.

(CLINICA NEUROL, 41: 1056|1059, 2001)
key words: acute ischemic stroke, thrombolytic therapy, anticoagulant therapy, antiplatelet therapy, meta-analysis

(Received: 12-May-01)