Columbus Dispatch: Trial Aims At Opening Window For Stroke Treatment

In the case of a stroke, seconds matter.

When 86 year old Dorothy Berry woke up on a morning in February at her home, she was unable to talk or move one side of her body.

Rushed to the hospital, she was connected with Dr. B.J. Hicks, co-director of the OhioHealth Comprehensive Stroke Network.

Because she went to bed the night before, at 10 p.m., there is no timetable as to when the symptoms would have started. So the rule is to go back to when she was last seen well. That would have put the time at about 9 hours.

If there was indeed a blood clot in the brain, traditional medical rules say this patient would be outside the window of treatment for removal.

But a clinical trial around the world, and right here in Columbus, Ohio meant the window might not be closed.

Berry was flown to Riverside Methodist Hospital, where co-director of the Comprehensive Stroke Network, Dr. Ron Budzik started to look at Berry's case.

Budzik says that Berry was an ideal case for the trial because she was showing stroke symptoms, but imaging showed her brain had not been damaged, and there was a large area of her brain that was at risk.

She was enrolled in the trial, with her family's approval, and within a day, Berry was back to normal function.

OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital enrolled the third-most patients in the world in the trial. And so far, the results coming from the trial have been positive.

"In our line of work, for as long as we've been treating stroke patients, it's all been about time, Dr. Hicks told Columbus Dispatch reporter JoAnne Viviano. "But now, with this trial, we're able to have really good data that just came out showing imaging as your guide, you can potentially impact a lot more patients."

"It was one of the most dramatically positive stroke trials ever, as far as the actual magnitude of benefit of the treatment, it was off the charts," Dr. Budzik told the Dispatch.

This research could have a large impact in stroke centers around the world.  It could help doctors look more at the imaging than the clock, which could give patients a different option, up to 24 hours after stroke symptoms.

"We've been waiting for this era of stroke for years," Dr. Hicks told the Dispatch.

This trial was conducted through the OhioHealth Research and Innovation Institute. To learn more, click here.

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To learn more about treatments, and to find out information on stroke, click here.