Ischemic stroke happens when a blood clot blocks flow to part of the brain. Immediate treatment with clot-busting drugs or mechanical clot removal can prevent lasting damage, but many people are left with weakness, speech problems, or other disabilities. Research now focuses on extending the treatment window, protecting brain tissue, and helping the brain repair itself after injury.
What's actually going on in research
Trials are testing neuroprotective drugs that may keep brain cells alive longer after a stroke, stem cell therapies to promote recovery, brain stimulation paired with physical therapy, and drugs that encourage the brain to rewire itself. Researchers are also studying ways to prevent recurrent strokes with newer anticoagulants and treatments targeting specific stroke causes like atrial fibrillation.
Neuroprotection
Drugs that protect brain cells from dying in the hours after stroke are being tested in large trials. The goal is to extend the window for treatment beyond the current 24 hours and reduce disability.
Recovery and rehabilitation
Researchers are testing stem cells, brain stimulation devices, and medications that may help the brain form new connections after stroke. Some trials combine these approaches with intensive physical or speech therapy.
Stroke prevention
Trials are testing newer anticoagulants and devices to close a heart opening called a patent foramen ovale in younger stroke survivors. Others study intensive blood pressure control and management of silent brain infarcts.
What to know before you search
Eligibility typically depends on time since stroke, type and severity of symptoms, presence of other medical conditions like atrial fibrillation, and ability to participate in testing or therapy.
What types of trials are currently open
- Acute treatment trials — Testing drugs or devices used in the first hours after stroke to restore blood flow or protect brain tissue. Many require enrollment while still in the hospital.
- Recovery trials — Testing therapies weeks or months after stroke to improve movement, speech, or cognition. May involve stem cells, brain stimulation, or rehabilitation approaches.
- Prevention trials — Testing medications or procedures to prevent a second stroke in people who've already had one. Often involve blood thinners or management of heart rhythm problems.
- Rehabilitation studies — Comparing different physical therapy, occupational therapy, or speech therapy approaches to find what works best.
Recently added Ischemic Stroke trials
Take an experimental medication during stroke treatment
This phase 2, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial will evaluate the efficacy and safety of anisodine hydrobromide in patients with acute ischemic stroke undergoing endovascular thrombectomy.
Share your medical records to help validate an AI health tool
The goal of this observational study is to leverage the abundant patient resources and standardized medical records from Beijing Friendship Hospital, Xuanwu Hospital, and Beijing Anzhen Hospital, combined with the existing data and knowledge platform of guidelines, consensus, medical literature, and dialogue data from Beijing Haitian Ruisheng Science Technology Co.,Ltd, with Beijing Zhilan Medical Technology Co., Ltd. conducting the fine-tuning, optimization, and validation of the medical large language model. The model is fine-tuned according to the consultation and diagnostic needs of different departments to improve the quality and efficiency of hospital medical services, enhance intelligence, and elevate the level of medical care. Through deployment to hospitals at all levels, it aims to achieve standardized services and support graded diagnosis and treatment. The overall research includes medical big data construction, medical knowledge graph construction, medical large model training and fine-tuning, and large model application platform development and deployment.
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