Research

Adding anti-clotting drugs to stroke care ineffective, clinical trial finds

Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis •
Opeolu Adeoye, MD, and Peter Panagos, MD, (right) both professors of emergency medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, analyze a brain scan for stroke damage. Adeoye led a national clinical trial that found that two anti-coagulant medications are ineffective at improving post-treatment outcomes for stroke patients. (Photo: Tim Miller)
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Stroke patients who survive a blood clot in the brain’s blood vessels are prone to developing new blockages during their recovery periods, even if they receive vessel-clearing interventions. In an effort to avoid further clots, doctors at 57 sites around the U.S. tested a possible solution: the addition of anti-coagulant drugs to medicine that dissolves blood clots.