title: A double blind trial of naloxone in the treatment of acute stroke.
abstract: Naloxone has been reported to have potential benefit in the treatment of stroke. We evaluated the effect of naloxone in a double-blind trial conducted with 15 stroke patients whose deficits ranged from 8 to 60 hours in duration. All but one patient sustained a cerebral infarction. Neurologic function was assessed before and five minutes after each of two injections given to each patient in a double-blind fashion. The injections consisted of naloxone (0.4 mg in 3 patients and 4.0 mg in 12 patients) and saline. Prior to the trial, samples of plasma were obtained for determination of immunoreactive beta-endorphin for each patient. Four patients showed minimal improvement following injection of naloxone, while five patients exhibited a slightly greater improvement following saline injection. There were no significant elevations of plasma beta-endorphin among stroke patients. We conclude that naloxone may not have a significant therapeutic role for stroke in the clinical setting.
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000941:Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004723:Endorphins / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009270:Naloxone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001615:beta-Endorphin
chemical_list: D000941:Antigens; D004723:Endorphins; D009270:Naloxone; D001615:beta-Endorphin