Minimally Invasive Drug Leads to Better Post-Stroke Results Than Supportive Therapy Alone

In an update to prior research, Johns Hopkins neurologists say minimally invasive delivery of the drug tPA directly into potentially lethal blood clots in the brain has helped more patients function independently one year after suffering an intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) — a deadly and debilitating form of stroke. Rates of functional recovery with the active tPA treatment have far surpassed those achieved with standard “supportive” therapy that essentially gives clots a chance to shrink on their own.

In the current Johns Hopkins-led study, ICH patients who randomly received the minimally invasive surgery to deliver a drug designed to dissolve their golf ball-sized clots checked out of the hospital an average of 38 days sooner than those who received supportive therapy. In addition to the health benefits, the tPA therapy and resulting shortened hospital stay led to an estimated savings of $44,000 per patient, according to researchers. ICH has long been considered surgically untreatable under most circumstances; roughly 50 percent of people who have this type of stroke die from it. For more information, click here to read the full release.