Researchers at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston have recently found a new method that allegedly has the ability to safely and more effectively remove blood clots in stroke patients. It was found that the standard treatment for stroke patients caused by blood clots involves the therapeutic infusion of tissue plasminogen activator or tPA. In line with this, experts believe that tPA has a great amount of efficacy to dissolve the clots and restore blood flow. However, researchers have highly emphasized that this treatment can also pose a risk of bleeding and swelling in the brain, and is only effective if the process has been administered within three hours of the stroke.

Ways To Improve Stroke Treatment

In one of his statements revealed by Science Daily, corresponding author on a paper about the work published in the journal Blood, Edward Feener, Ph.D., has claimed that these drugs that target a protein called plasma kallikrein, as well as an activator protein called factor XII may allegedly make it easier for tPA to safely reduce these complications and increase its efficacy in opening blood vessels. Furthermore, researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center have also demonstrated the potential of giving a drug in combination with tPA that might improve stroke outcomes and increase the window of opportunity for the therapy.

The Study Proposition

Meanwhile, as per UPI, researchers at Joslin was noted to have induced blood clots into the brains of mice and then treated them with tPA. In return, it was found that the mice have also been given a plasma kallikrein inhibitor and results showed the mice produced lower amounts of the protein which has reportedly showed significantly less bleeding, brain swelling and damage to areas of the brain than control animals without the plasma kallikrein inhibitor. Ultimately, the findings have highly emphasized that tPA activates plasma kallikrein through the Factor XII, which is then believed to be the one behind the coagulation.