title: Antithrombotic treatments in acute ischemic stroke.
abstract: Ischemic stroke results most commonly from cerebral arterial thrombosis. Antithrombotic agents can reduce the incidence of cerebral embolic events or the extent of tissue injury and neurological outcome. The antiplatelet agents aspirin, ticlopidine, and the combination of dipyridamole and aspirin are associated with a significant reduction in second focal cerebral ischemic events. Oral anticoagulants have a role to reduce the incidence of cardiogenic emboli in patients with mechanical cardiac valves or nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. Both antithrombotics are untested in the acute setting. The recombinant tissue plasminogen activator rt-PA has been shown to significantly increase the number of stroke patients with no or minimal deficit when treated within 3 hours of symptom onset. Additional studies of this and other plasminogen activators by both intravenous and intra-arterial delivery have highlighted limitations to this approach, but also support its role in acute intervention. The risk of intracerebral hemorrhage attends the use of all antithrombotic agents, most notably plasminogen activators. Strategies to decrease this risk are likely to add to beneficial outcome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Experimental Medicine, The Scripps Research Institute, Scripps Clinic, La Jolla, California 92037, USA. grgdlzop@hermes.scripps.edu
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: del Zoppo
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D020767:Intracranial Thrombosis / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy; D010960:Plasminogen Activators / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D020521:Stroke / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology
chemical_list: D000925:Anticoagulants; D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors; D010960:Plasminogen Activators