[Correspondence] The future of stroke therapy must not be mired by past arguments

Stroke is the leading cause of disability and the fifth leading cause of death in the UK, costing the UK economy more than £7 billion per year.1 At present, the only therapeutic approved by the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for the treatment of ischaemic stroke is thrombolysis using recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator (rtPA). However, rtPA is only effective in patients who present within 4·5 h of stroke onset, with a number needed to treat for benefit of 3·6 before 90 min, rising to 5·9 between 3 h and 4·5 h.
Source: LANCET - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Tags: Correspondence Source Type: research