Australian researchers have pioneered a stroke treatment that will change the way doctors approach the condition worldwide.
Researchers at Royal Melbourne Hospital combined two types of stroke treatment with new technology and almost doubled the number of patients who walked out of hospital after the most severe form of stroke.
Under the approach, doctors used advanced brain imaging to identify which parts of the brain were irreversibly damaged and which parts were salvageable.
They then used new stent technology to remove the clot.
When combined with traditional clot-busting medication the proportion of patients who did not sustain a disability after the stroke went from 40 to 70 per cent.
Researchers will present the results this morning at a major stroke conference in Nashville in the United States.
The study involved 14 hospitals in Australia and New Zealand and was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Removing clot allows blood flow to return to the brain
The new approach to treatment is major news for the one-in-six Australians who will suffer a stroke in their lifetime.
Almost two thirds of those who have a stroke develop some form of disability as a result.
The new approach would benefit those who suffer the most extreme form of stroke known as ischemic stroke, where a clot blocks an artery.
Removing the clot allows blood flow to return to the brain, which is critical in stroke recovery.
The lead investigator, neurologist Dr Bruce Campbell, said one of the key features of the study was advanced brain imaging.
“To actually look into a patient’s brain and see which parts were already irreversibly damaged that we couldn’t save, versus how much was actually salvageable if we could get the artery open quickly… is a major difference between our trial and many of the other trials,” Dr Campbell said.
“This is a treatment that applies to patients with the most severe types of strokes, the strokes that are likely to cause disability, people who end up in nursing homes or even dead, and so it is a major advance.”
Fellow investigator Associate Professor Peter Mitchell said it was a “revolutionary” development that was being welcomed worldwide.
“I think it offers hope that hasn’t necessarily been there before,” he said.
“We’ve had these spectacular anecdotal reports where we remove the blood clot, someone is densely paralysed in their arm or leg, can’t speak and then on the table, or within 24 hours they’re almost normal and they can go home within a couple of days.”
New treatment saved truck driver after stroke collapse
Among those to benefit from the work is Melbourne truck driver Sam Kalogiannopoulos.
Mr Kalogiannopoulos was driving one day when his vision went blurry. He went back to the station and collapsed.
He was rushed to Royal Melbourne Hospital where he was given the life-saving treatment.
“There was no history of stroke in my family,” Mr Kalogiannopoulos said.
“I didn’t believe I had a stroke. I just collapsed pretty much. I thought something was wrong with my leg actually.”
He says the treatment saved his life and he wants others to be aware of the symptoms of stroke.
“I look at life differently now knowing that I’ve got a second chance. It’s hard to describe my feelings actually.”