New generation of clot removal devices more effective in treating stroke patients

New generation of clot removal devices more effective in treating stroke patients

Stroke patients are treated at Stony Brook’s Cerebrovascular and Stroke Center (CCC) with a new range of devices for cerebral revascularization. Approved by the FDA in 2012 for treatment of acute ischemic stroke, the Solitaire Flow Restoration Device and the Trevo device proved more effective than first-generation clot removal device.
David Fiorella, MD, Ph.D., Professor of Clinical Neurological Surgery and Radiology at Stony Brook University School of Medicine and Co-Director of the CCC, said they have obtained promising results on these new devices. He said that in ischemic stroke, time is brain and every minute counts, in other words the chances of full recovery are higher if the patient is treated as soon as possible . He added that these new devices  help to quickly restore the blood flow in patients with stroke.

Stroke

Stroke is the leading cause of disability in adults in the United States and the fourth leading cause of death. Statistics show that on average every 4 seconds a stroke occurs and every 4 hours someone dies from a stroke. Given the high incidence of this disease, the development and introduction into clinical practice of new revascularization devices should become priorities for medical centers.

There are two types of stroke: ischemic stroke, occurring by blocking a blood vessel by a clot or ( platelet clot or thromboembolic clot ), or hemorrhagic, which appear by breaking a blood vessel. As with PCI, percutaneous coronary intervention, which applies to patients with acute myocardial infarction, revascularization of patients with stroke significantly improves their prognosis.

Although recent studies on the first generation of devices show that they do not significantly improve the prognosis of patients compared to standard drug therapy, Dr. Fiorella points out that these new devices are more efficient. In terms of effectiveness, studies are ongoing. These new revascularization devices are in fact expandable wire-mesh systems which collapses and enter the circulatory system with the use of microcatheters. They are then guided by cerebral circulation and are attached to the blood vessel affected;  when these devices are removed, they pull out the blood clot which obstructed the artery.

Dr. Fiorella said that endovascular therapy is especially effective in some patients with stroke. In addition, when stroke affects one of the main arteries of the brain, medications fail to open the occluded artery in 70-90% of cases. “In these cases where intravenous medications are ineffective or contraindicated, endovascular treatments using these new devices offer patients the most promise,” he said.