A recent study has found that the clot-busting drug tenecteplase could offer better recovery outcomes for people who experience ischemic stroke compared to the more commonly used drug alteplase.
Ischemic stroke, caused by a blockage of blood flow to the brain, is the most common type of stroke.
Alteplase is currently the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating ischemic stroke, while tenecteplase is approved for this use in Europe but not yet in the U.S.
In some U.S. stroke centers, however, tenecteplase is used off-label.
Researchers reviewed multiple studies comparing the effectiveness of these two drugs, focusing on recovery three months after a stroke.
The study, led by Dr. Georgios Tsivgoulis of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, involved a meta-analysis of 11 studies that included more than 7,500 participants.
Patients were treated with either tenecteplase or alteplase within four-and-a-half hours of their stroke.
The goal was to compare recovery outcomes between the two drugs.
Researchers used a recovery scale ranging from zero to six, where zero means no symptoms and six represents death. An excellent recovery was defined as a score of zero or one, where one indicates no significant disability but some symptoms.
A good recovery was defined as a score of zero to two, with slight disability but the ability to manage daily activities independently.
The results showed that people treated with tenecteplase were 5% more likely to have an excellent recovery and 10% more likely to experience reduced disability after three months compared to those treated with alteplase. However, both drugs had similar chances of leading to a good recovery.
“Our findings suggest that tenecteplase may be a better option for ischemic stroke treatment, offering a higher chance of excellent recovery and less disability,” said Dr. Tsivgoulis.
While the study offers promising results, a limitation is that not all the analyzed studies have been fully published in scientific journals yet.
If you care about stroke, please read studies about how to eat to prevent stroke, and diets high in flavonoids could help reduce stroke risk.
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