A clinical trial testing a new clot-busting drug in stroke

Sixth joint stroke association/BHF grant: Alteplase-Tenecteplase Trial Evaluation for Stroke Thrombolysis (ATTEST) (seventh call)

Professor Keith Muir and his colleagues at the University of Glasgow are carrying out a clinical trial to find out if a new clot-busting drug could help people who have had a stroke. Giving clot-busting drug treatments within the first few hours after a stroke greatly improves the chances of recovery, and the quicker the treatment is given, the greater the benefit. Stroke units in the UK and around the world now deliver this treatment promptly. Currently doctors give stroke patients a drug called alteplase, but newer clot-busting drugs have been developed. Professor Muir and other researchers have investigated a drug called tenecteplase in stroke patients in small clinical trials. They think tenecteplase could be more effective and safer than alteplase. In this project, funded in partnership with the Stroke Association, Professor Muir will test tenecteplase in a large clinical trial in hospitals in the UK and abroad to find out if it is better than alteplase at treating people who have had a stroke. Patients will receive either alteplase or tenecteplase within four and a half hours of having a stroke, and will be followed up for 3 months to monitor recovery. This research will reveal if tenecteplase is better than alteplase at treating people who have had a stroke. Because tenecteplase is less expensive and easier to give, it could be a cheaper and more straightforward way to improve the outlook for stroke patients.