Excerpt from "Brain-scan guided emergency stroke treatment can save more lives," posted on NIH News, January 24, 2018.
Advances in brain imaging can identify a greater number of stroke patients who can receive therapy later than previously believed, according to a new study. The results of the Endovascular Therapy Following Imaging Evaluation for the Ischemic Stroke (DEFUSE 3) trial, presented at the International Stroke Conference 2018 in Los Angeles and published on Jan. 24 in the New England Journal of Medicine, demonstrated that physically removing brain clots up to 16 hours after symptom onset in selected patients led to improved outcomes compared to standard medical therapy. The study was funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes of Health.
“These striking results will have an immediate impact and save people from life-long disability or death,” said Walter Koroshetz, M.D., director NINDS. “I really cannot overstate the size of this effect. The study shows that one out of three stroke patients who present with at-risk brain tissue on their scans improve and some may walk out of the hospital saved from what would otherwise have been a devastating brain injury.”
DEFUSE 3 was a large, multi-site study supported by NINDS’ StrokeNet, which is a network of hospitals providing research infrastructure for multi-site clinical trials. This study was conducted at 38 centers across the United States and was led by Gregory W. Albers, M.D., professor of neurology and neurological sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine, in California, and director of the Stanford Stroke Center. The study was ended early by the NIH on recommendation of the independent Data and Safety and Monitoring Board because of overwhelming evidence of benefit from the clot removal procedure.
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