Pharmacotherapy of cerebral ischemia
Document Type
Article
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Ischemic stroke remains one of the leading causes of death and disability in the developed world. Despite many promising preclinical results, the only pharmacologic treatments proven effective in improving clinical outcome following ischemic stroke until now are administration of aspirin and acute thrombolysis using tissue-plasminogen activator. OBJECTIVE: To review currently approved pharmacologic therapies as well as promising future treatment strategies for acute ischemic stroke. METHODS: We performed an exhaustive PubMed search for articles published from 1950 through 2009 describing pharmacotherapy of acute ischemic stroke, focusing on agents that are currently in Phase III trials or approved for clinical use. Following this review, we present our interpretation of the existing literature and our vision of the future of pharmacotherapy for ischemic stroke. RESULTS/CONCLUSIONS: Since the clinical success of the first intravenous thrombolytic, many studies have sought to further characterize the ideal patient population and to extend the therapeutic time window for pharmacologic thrombolysis. Additionally, despite the many failures of neuroprotective trials, several promising agents are currently undergoing Phase III investigation. With the advent of interventional techniques enabling local delivery of therapeutics into the region of the thrombus, the future of pharmacotherapy for ischemic stroke will probably include a combination of interventional techniques and pharmacotherapy.
Medical Subject Headings
Brain Ischemia (drug therapy); Fibrinolytic Agents (therapeutic use); Humans; Neuroprotective Agents (therapeutic use); Stroke (prevention & control); Thrombolytic Therapy
Publication Date
8-1-2009
Publication Title
Expert opinion on pharmacotherapy
E-ISSN
1744-7666
Volume
10
Issue
12
First Page
1895
Last Page
906
PubMed ID
19514865
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.1517/14656560903055095
Recommended Citation
Ducruet, Andrew F.; Grobelny, Bartosz T.; Zacharia, Brad E.; Hickman, Zachary L.; Yeh, Mason L.; and Connolly, E Sander, "Pharmacotherapy of cerebral ischemia" (2009). Translational Neuroscience. 2142.
https://scholar.barrowneuro.org/neurobiology/2142