What's the next phase of stroke treatment?

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I was fortunate enough to be in the right place, right time in 1998 - just two years after approval of clot-buster tissue plasminogen activator, also known as tPA or alteplase.

However, it's true that little has changed since then. Researchers have looked at different windows of time for the drug, which can quickly dissolve a clot to prevent further stroke damage, but new, safer and more effective drugs have not come to pass.

I have little right to complain about tPA, but I'm just one guy who benefited. It has its dangers, too. And while there are some good signs related to using devices to remove clots, much more research and work are needed to improve treatment and stroke outcomes.

You can read a recent article summarizing the need for the next phase in stroke treatment:

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.