“Hence, there is a large unmet need for safe, effective, and widely available treatments for acute stroke beyond six hours from symptom onset.” However, due to shorter time windows, “less than 5 percent of patient’s with ischemic stroke are able to receive these therapies,” the authors wrote. The stem-cell treated patients also were found to have a lower chance of having a serious infection.Ĭurrent treatment options for this type of stroke, known as ischemic, involve the use of intravenous tissue plasminogen activator, or TPA, or removing the clot through a procedure known as thrombectomy, available at comprehensive stroke centers like OHSU. In addition, the researchers found participants treated with stem cells showed improvement in several measures of neurologic recovery at one year compared with controls. The results showed that the stem cell treatment could be done safely with no negative side effects. The global study involved a total of 129 participants, 65 of whom received stem cells grown from bone marrow and given intravenously, and 61 who received a placebo within the first 48 hours of the stroke’s onset. Multipotent adult progenitor cells, shown here via microscope, were used in treating stroke patients in a clinical trial at 33 sites around the world including OHSU. (Athersys Inc.) OHSU was the top-enrolling study site among 33 worldwide. “If these results are confirmed, this would really open up the number of patients who would be able to receive treatment for their strokes,” said study co-author Wayne Clark, M.D., a professor of neurology in the OHSU School of Medicine and director of the OHSU Stroke Program. The research published today in The Lancet Neurology. New data from a phase II clinical trial show this treatment can be effective up to 48 hours after the onset of stroke.
A newly developed potential treatment involving the use of stem cells to promote brain recovery may greatly extend this window. Unfortunately, many patients do not make it to the hospital in time to receive it. The only stroke medication currently available must be given within three hours to achieve maximum benefit. When it comes to treating stroke, time is brain. Vials of multipotent adult progenitor cells were used in treating participants in a clinical trial involving OHSU and 32 other comprehensive stroke centers around the world. (Athersys Inc.)
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