Stroke happens when blood flow to part of the brain stops, either from a clot or a burst vessel. It's a leading cause of disability worldwide. Treatment focuses on restoring blood flow quickly, preventing another stroke, and helping people recover lost function through rehabilitation.
What's actually going on in research
Trials are testing clot-removal devices that work beyond the traditional time window, neuroprotective drugs that might limit brain damage, stem cell treatments aimed at repairing injured brain tissue, and rehabilitation approaches including brain stimulation and robotics. Researchers are also studying ways to predict who's at risk and prevent strokes before they happen.
Extended time windows
Imaging now lets doctors identify salvageable brain tissue many hours after stroke onset. Trials are testing whether clot removal and thrombolytics work in carefully selected patients up to 24 hours or more after symptoms start.
Neuroprotection
Drugs targeting inflammation, oxidative stress, and cell death pathways aim to protect brain cells during and after stroke. After decades of failures, new approaches are being tested alongside clot removal rather than alone.
Recovery and repair
Stem cell infusions, brain stimulation devices, and intensive rehabilitation protocols are being studied to see if they can help restore movement, speech, and thinking after stroke. Some trials combine these approaches with traditional physical therapy.
What to know before you search
Eligibility depends on stroke type (ischemic or hemorrhagic), time since stroke, severity of symptoms, prior medical conditions, and whether you've had previous strokes.
What types of trials are currently open
- Acute treatment trials — Testing clot-busting drugs, clot-removal devices, and neuroprotective medications given in the first hours after stroke to limit brain damage.
- Prevention trials — Testing blood thinners, blood pressure medications, cholesterol drugs, and procedures to close heart defects that increase stroke risk.
- Recovery trials — Testing rehabilitation approaches, brain stimulation, robotics, stem cells, and other interventions to help people regain function weeks to years after stroke.
- Device trials — Testing new thrombectomy catheters, implantable monitors to detect irregular heart rhythms, and devices that deliver rehabilitation therapy.
- Registry studies — Following large groups of stroke survivors to understand outcomes, identify best practices, and learn which treatments work for which patients.
Recently added Stroke trials
Ultra-early Identification of Futile Recanalization After Reperfusion Therapy in Acute Ischemic Stroke Based on Cerebral Autoregulation Monitoring
This multicenter, prospective, and interventional diagnostic accuracy study enrolls patients undergoing thrombectomy with intraoperative cerebral autoregulation monitoring and follows them up at predefined time points up to 90 days post-enrollment.This study aims to evaluate a monitoring system based on cerebral autoregulation function and explore its predictive value for adverse neurological outcomes at the ultra-early stage following mechanical thrombectomy.
PROMISE Registry: PROspective Study on Management of Ischemic Stroke Secondary to mEvo Registry
Investigators are conducting a real world, observational, prospective, multicenter study to better understand treatment for patients with MeVo and distal vessel occlusions in the U.S post publication of recent MeVO trials.
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