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KMID : 1130620070030010001
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Journal of Clinical Neurology
2007 Volume.3 No. 1 p.1 ~ p.8
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Ultrasound Enhanced Thrombolysis: Applications in Acute Cerebral Ischemia
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Tsivgoulis Georgios
Alexandrov Andrei V.
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Abstract
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Intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (TPA) improves patient chances to recover from stroke by inducing mostly partial recanalization of large intracranial thrombi. TPA activity can be enhanced with ultrasound including 2 MHz transcranial Doppler (TCD). TCD identifies residual blood flow signals around thrombi, and, by delivering mechanical pressure waves, exposes more thrombus surface to circulating TPA. The international multi-center CLOTBUST trial showed that ultrasound enhances thrombolytic activity of a drug in humans thereby confirming multi- disciplinary experimental research conducted worldwide for the past 30 years. In the CLOTBUST trial, the dramatic clinical recovery from stroke coupled with complete recanalization within 2 hours after TPA bolus occurred in 25% of patients treated with TPA+TCD compared to 8% who received TPA alone (p=0.02). Complete clearance of a thrombus and dramatic recovery of brain functions during treatment are feasible goals for ultrasound-enhanced thrombolysis that can lead to sustained recovery. An early boost in brain perfusion seen in the Target CLOTBUST group resulted in a trend of 13% more patients achieving favorable outcome at 3 months, subject for a pivotal trial. However, different results were achieved in a small TRUMBI trial and another study that used Transcranial Color-Coded Duplex Sonography (TCCD). Adverse bio-effects of mid- KHz (300) ultrasound promote bleeding, including brain areas not-affected by ischemia while exposure to multi- frequency / multi-element duplex ultrasound resulted in a trend towards higher risk of hemorrhagic transformations. To further enhance the ability of TPA to break up thrombi, current ongoing clinical trials include phase II studies of a single beam 2 MHz TCD with perflutren-lipid microspheres. Enhancement of intra-arterial TPA delivery is being clinically tested with 1.7-2.1 MHz pulsed wave ultrasound (EKOS catheter). Multi-national dose escalation studies of microspheres and the development of an operator independent ultrasound device are underway.
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KEYWORD
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TPA, Transcranial Doppler, Stroke, Thrombolysis, Outcomes
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