Hopeful research for stroke patients

More Lazarus-related news - Australian researchers have seen promising results using a second clot-busting drug vs. the now-standard Alteplase, also called tissue plasminogen activator or tPA..

Researchers with the University of Newcastle's School of Medicine and Public Health compared Alteplase with Tenecteplase, now used in heart attack patients. The results showed a rapid recovery for stroke patients:

Associate Professor [Mark] Parsons said there was often a "Lazarus-like" effect among the Tenecteplase patients as they appeared to rise up off the bed. Lazarus, in the Bible, was raised from the dead.

"The results were quite dramatic and a bit surprising for us in that in the new drug Tenecteplase, more than two-thirds of patients had this dramatic response within 24 hours where they almost fully recovered," Associate Professor Parsons said.

"With the standard drug it's about a third."

I've always enjoyed the Lazarus reference - including my own Lazarus-effect moment in 1998. With more research, here's to more Lazarus experiences for stroke patients.