What the trial was testing
The THALES enrolled 11,016 patients with stroke. The study was sponsored by AstraZeneca and tracked outcomes across the full group of patients who matched the trial's eligibility profile.
It was a large trial designed to confirm whether the treatment works well enough for wider use. Trials at this stage are designed to produce evidence regulators and physicians can act on — not just observations to follow up later.
What the results showed
17% lower risk of stroke or death within 30 days vs. aspirin alone.
New England Journal of Medicine · 2020 · NCT03354429
These findings — that of stroke or death in 30 days when ticagrelor is added to aspirin after mild ischemic stroke or TIA — were published in the New England Journal of Medicine and represent the headline result of the study.
Researchers tracked outcomes across 11,016 patients enrolled in the trial. The result was consistent enough across the group that the team felt confident reporting it.
What this means for patients
For patients with stroke, this result changes the calculus on what to ask their care team about. Whether it changes day-to-day care depends on factors like disease subtype, prior treatments, and where the patient is in their care journey.
What you can do now
Ticagrelor (Brilinta) plus aspirin is FDA-approved for stroke prevention after a mild stroke or TIA and available now. Treatment is short — usually 30 days — to limit bleeding risk. Talk to a neurologist quickly after stroke symptoms; this regimen only works if started within 24 hours of symptom onset.
Eligibility for the treatments mentioned above depends on specific test results and clinical history. Bring this summary, the trial name, and your most recent labs or pathology report to your next visit.
Open stroke trials
Development of a Genomics-based Multimodal Prediction Model for Post-stroke Vascular Dementia
To collect large-scale multimodal data, including genomic information, neuroimaging, neurophysiological measures, cognitive assessments, and clinical characteristics from stroke survivors and healthy controls. This study aims to develop and validate an integrated prediction model for identifying individuals at high risk of post-stroke vascular dementia and to establish a foundation for precision medicine approaches in stroke-related cognitive impairment.
The Beneficial Effects of Naps on Motor Learning
Background: Memory consolidation is the process by which memories become stable, long-term representations in the brain. Consolidation of a motor skill is dependent upon sleep. Some research shows that daytime naps improve people s motor performance and memory retention. Researchers want to find out how daytime naps may contribute to learning and support consolidation of motor skill memories. Objective: To learn the role of memory replay during wakeful rest and sleep (naps) in retaining a newly learned skill. Eligibility: English-speaking adults ages 18 and older with chronic stroke, or healthy, right-handed, English-speaking adults ages 18-35 and 50-80 Design: Participants will be screened with: * medical history * neurological history * medicine review * medical exam * neurological exam. Participants will have a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan of the brain. For this, they will lie down in a scanner. The scanner makes loud noises, so they will wear earplugs. They will fill out an MRI screening form before each MRI. Participants will also have magnetoencephalography (MEG). MEG maps brain activity. It does this by recording the magnetic fields produced by naturally occurring electrical currents in the brain. For MEG, participants will lie down in the MEG room. Their eye movements may be recorded by a video camera. Participants will have behavior testing. They will practice typing random keys. Then they will repeatedly type a custom sequence that they see on a computer screen. Then they will take a 2-hour nap. Then they will type the same sequence again. Participants will have no more than 4 visits at the NIH over 3 months. Visits will last 2-4 hours each.