In patients whose imaging showed brain tissue at risk for infarction, successful reperfusion was associated with better outcomes regardless of whether the internal carotid or middle cerebral artery was occluded.
Endovascular stroke therapy continues to hold out promise, but in several recent randomized clinical trials it did not improve clinical outcomes compared with intravenous thrombolysis alone. For endovascular therapy to prove itself in this regard will probably require a combination of speedy intervention, technically sound devices, and appropriate patient selection.
To advance our understanding of the patient-selection component, the DEFUSE-2 investigators (NEJM JW Neurology Sep 25 2012) now report a substudy comparing the association between reperfusion and clinical outcomes in patients with occluded internal carotid artery (ICA) and in those with occluded middle cerebral artery (MCA). The multicenter DEFUSE-2 study enrolled patients antici…
Reviewing Author
DisclosuresSpeaker’s bureauGenentech
Grant / Research supportNational Institutes of Health/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke; Michael Goldberg Stroke Research Fund
Editorial boardsPLOS One; Scientific Reports
Leadership positions in professional societiesNeurocritical Care Society (Research Committee Member)
DisclosuresSpeaker’s bureauGenentech
Grant / Research supportNational Institutes of Health/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke; Michael Goldberg Stroke Research Fund
Editorial boardsPLOS One; Scientific Reports
Leadership positions in professional societiesNeurocritical Care Society (Research Committee Member)